Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/1005739.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      Harry_Potter_-_J._K._Rowling
  Relationship:
      Hermione_Granger/Bartemius_Crouch_Jr, Harry_Potter/Ginny_Weasely, Fred
      Weasley/Katie_Bell, George_Weasely/Angelina_Johnson, Ron_Weasely/Lavender
      Brown, Neville_Longbottom/Hannah_Abbott, Draco_Malfoy/Luna_Lovegood,
      Daphne_Greengrass/Blaise_Zabini
  Character:
      Lucius_Malfoy, Narcissa_Black_Malfoy, Hermione_Granger, Bartemius_Crouch
      Jr., Harry_Potter, Ginny_Weasley, Fred_Weasley, George_Weasley, Hedwig,
      Ron_Weasley, Neville_Longbottom, Draco_Malfoy, Luna_Lovegood, Blaise
      Zabini, Minerva_McGonagall, Albus_Dumbledore, Rufus_Scrimgeour, Tiberius,
      Kingsley_Shacklebolt
  Additional Tags:
      marriage_law, Explict_Sexual_Content, Forced_Marriage, OC_-_Lonnie
      Cuthota, Humor, Marriage, Chains, Wedding_Night, Clothed_Sex, Loss_of
      Virginity, Torture, Branding, Fever_induced_delusions, Romance, Wall_Sex,
      Age_Difference, Hallucinations, Hair-pulling, Spanking, Situational
      Humiliation, Underage_Drinking, Forced_Orgasm, Nicknames, Blackouts,
      Possessive_Behavior, Consensual_Sex
  Series:
      Part 1 of Thémata_tou_Chrónou
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-10-15 Updated: 2015-03-27 Chapters: 26/? Words: 113156
****** Lunar Embrace ******
by Hawkflight
Summary
     It's not like the Ministry could foresee why this might not be a good
     idea. Most sixth years didn't make the cut for the marriage law at
     the time, just a few. One of those included Hermione Granger. And a
     certain Bartemius just had his name cleared under rather mysterious
     circumstances.
Notes
     Welcome to my marriage law fic. Out of the hundreds of thousands
     roaming the web. Got this idea the other day when I was looking at
     this pairing and figured it needed a different spin.
***** Chapter 1 *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
She poked at her food with the fork just waiting for the mail to come. For a
letter that would seal her fate to someone else. She was nervous about it. She
was nervous about being the only one in her group of friends that qualified for
the marriage law that was passed just yesterday.
The Daily Prophet had been all over it. How any witch or wizard at the age of
seventeen to forty had to be married within the next month. Apparently the
Ministry thought it was appropriate to pass this stupid law while a war was on
the rise. Of course, even with evidence that Voldemort was back they still did
their best to ignore it anyways. There was a reason for the law though.
Extensive research had shown that the wizard population was steadily decreasing
over the years. The last wizarding war didn't help the case. The law was
passed, easily.
More astounding news had been in the Daily Prophet. Only days before, Barty
Crouch Jr. was cleared of his crimes. There was little explanation as to why in
her eyes. He had been actively out to kill Harry during fourth year. That
should have been enough evidence to keep him locked up in Azkaban for the rest
of his life. Though, according to the paper he wasn't guilty. Some sort of
tests had been run, spells used, potions, anything to make sure he was innocent
of the crimes.
It shouldn't have been possible but he was a free man now. Probably just
waiting to strike out at Harry again, under Voldemort's order.
"You need to eat, Hermione." Ron said, mouth already stuffed with food even
though they had only been at the table for a minute.
She glanced up at his words to look at him sitting across from her. "Don't talk
when your mouth is full, Ronald," she chastised, frowning as she spoke. With a
sigh she diligently speared a grape onto her fork to bring to her mouth and
chew, just to assure her friends that she was fine.
She wasn't really.
She hated this damn law. The actual name for it was one she found completely
ridiculous. It very well stated why and what it was in such a revolting
fashion. Hermione could picture the newspaper article yesterday that went over
all the details perfectly in her mind.
                        Higher Conception Matrimony Law
  The Ministry of Magic has decreeded a law for marriage of those between the
ages of seventeen and forty as a way to help the birth rate come up, as well as
  lower the shockingly rising amount of squibs (particularly coming from the
  Pure-Blooded families), to help the current generation by matchmaking them
                           through old magic means.
The actual matchmaking is a complicated process, but from what has been leaked
 from the Ministry of Magic, it is clearly thorough. It finds those that have
 compatible personalities, are physically attracted to each other, and checks
         many other things to assure that the marriage is a good fit.
 There is currently no way to switch marriages if it does not work out. Though
 the Ministry of Magic has surely thought of this possibility (one would think
                                   anyways).
  The contents of the law passed are below and it is strongly suggested that
  everyone fitting the age requirement reads it (as to not get a nasty shock
                                    later).
                              To Uphold This law
   We, the Ministry of Magic, assure you that this law is needed, and to go
against it is to spend a year in Azkaban. If you try to run from the law, your
    stay will be extended to two years. If you try to stop another person's
                marriage from happening it will be three years.
      1. Fertility Potions and Spells are encouraged , but not required .
     2. Changing a Match will not be possible. Due to the process used for
     matchmaking we can assure you that there are no errors in your match.
 3. This Law is Only for Those Not Currently Married. If you marry/get engaged
before tomorrow, your letter will not be sent. If you are already married this
              law does not apply to you unless you get a divorce.
 4. Trying to Stop Births at any time during which this marriage law is upheld
is punishable by a fifty galleon fine and up to a year in Azakaban. If you use
  muggle pills or anything else to aid in this act, the fine is pushed up to
                               eighty galleons.
 5. If You Are Not Capable of Having Children, this law does not apply to you.
 If you find this out after the marriage you will be divorced as long as your
  partner is still capable and a new match will be set up for them, otherwise
                       that decision lies in your hands.
                   To Fulfill The Requirements Of This Law,
                                   You must,
1. Conceive a Child within the first three years. If you are having trouble it
 is advised that you go to the hospital and have some reproduction tests run.
 2. Have a Bi-Monthly Check-Up at the Hospital to check if you or your partner
                                 is pregnant.
3. Find Time to Spend with your husband/wife around your schedule. Specifically
seventy two hours a week. Some special circumstances may exist for this. If you
  have problems with this requirement due to work or school, please talk to a
  Supervisor within the Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths so we are
   informed of your situation and can make the appropriate changes for your
                               personal record.
 4. On the Day of the Marriage, fulfill the act by consummating the marriage.
               5. Attempt to get pregnant at least once a week.
 6. Make Marriage Arrangements and select a date within the week you get your
                                    letter.
                       7. Be Married within four months.
    Under this law it will be punishable by death or a sentence to Azkaban
            depending on severity if you harm your child in anyway.
It was outrageous. Even if the Ministry was also attempting to keep the act of
this ridiculous law to a healthy state. That had been obvious to her when she
saw number three of the requirements. To make sure the newlyweds actually spent
time around each other and got time to know each other if they didn't already.
The addition at the end was another of these examples, trying to make sure the
children grew up in a favorable environment. At least the Ministry was trying
to do something right.
She very much wished that she was engaged right now but she refused to force a
friend into a marriage of convenience. Talk of the law had started a month ago
when it was being made and debated over. Now that it was passed she could just
wish that this process of matchmaking worked in her favor. If it was as good as
the papers and Ministry said, she wouldn't have a problem with it.
Besides not liking that she had to get married at such a young age,
consummating the marriage was one of the requirements she was iffy about. It
would seem much more favorable if the Ministry let the couples decide when to
do the act. Even if they wanted the children and the population of the
wizarding world to go up, that seemed to take it a bit far.
Well, that's what she first thought, until she saw number five anyways. They
were actually making it a requirement to shag each week as a minimum. That last
part may not have been said but it was heavily implied.
Just thinking about it made her stomach twist. That the Ministry would go so
far for a stupid little law.
Her nose twitched in distaste as she stuffed a cheese and herb bagel into her
mouth that she had somehow managed to fill with a strawberry cream filling,
even in her half-focused state.
The sound of a bag being dragged from the table made her raise her eyes to look
at her friends around her curiously. "Better eat that while getting to class or
you'll be late." Ron said before sticking a roll in his mouth.
Late? Her? No way. She got up, taking a bite of the bagel as she swung her
school bag over a shoulder and quickly followed Ron and Harry out of the Great
Hall and to their first class, Potions.
It was hard to concentrate with the fact that her letter had still not yet
arrived. She glanced towards Blaise Zabini, watching him until he noticed her
looking and simply mouthed at him, 'Did you get your letter yet?' He was in the
same boat as her, having turned seventeen early in the school year. When he
just shook his head in response - and she was damned grateful he had actually
responded to her inquiry rather than ignoring her - she sighed and looked back
to the front of the room.
She felt like twiddling her fingers the rest of the day as class after class
went by. During lunch, no owl had come for her though she noticed a Hufflepuff
get a single letter.
Hermione ended up asking her Head of House, McGonagall what the delay was
shortly after class.
"Oh," she said lightly while looking down at her student with clear sympathy.
"There was a slight mix up with the owls earlier this morning. Then the
Ministry was apparently being slightly behind with about twenty five percent of
the letters. It's a lot of letters to send so this isn't too much of a surprise
really. It'll still get here by today. I would recommend keeping your dorm room
window open, in case the owl is late in arriving."
Hermione said a quick thank you for the information before leaving to the next
class that had her bouncing on her toes, eager to see this letter and get it
over with. Good or bad - the anticipation was killing her. She would much
rather know what her future held then have it shrouded in mystery.
When it still hadn't come by dinner she was getting antsy. Glancing around, she
saw three owls come in and land to drop off letters in front of at least a
dozen seven year students. She watched as their reactions ranged from a look of
shock, a blush of embarrassment, blood draining from the face as one paled,
even a rather happy squeal came from a table. Hermione sighed once more before
glancing back towards her friends, hoping her own reaction was one of the more
favorable ones.
She got up from the table early, rather wanting to wait in her room for the
inevitable letter. After summoning a warm container to put some spaghetti and
meatballs in she made her way back to the Gryffindor tower.
Sitting up in her room with the window open wide, letting in a cold draft of
air, she ate the rest of her dinner. The sound of the door opening and closing
didn't escape her and she glanced over to see Ginny standing there.
"Padma wanted to know if it was okay if her and the others came in." Ginny said
slowly when she saw Hermione's frown. "Did it -"
"No. Not yet anyways." she paused before sighing. "They can come in." she said
while knowing full well that they were likely to only go to sleep after her
letter arrived and her spouse had been revealed. "You can stay too." Hermione
added as Ginny opened the door to call down to Hermione's dorm mates to come
up. She might need her friend here if it ended up being someone she didn't care
for. Or if it was someone she didn't know in the Wizarding World. She had heard
a seventh year whispering about how she had been paired with a twenty something
wizard while in the library, conveniently hidden by a stack of books.
Once the girls had all piled in Ginny came over and sat on her bed. "Do you
have any guesses?"
"No." she replied glancing back over to the window as she licked some sauce off
from her finger before closing the now empty container and setting it aside on
top of the drawer. "Could be an-" she stopped mid-sentence when she heard a
flap of wings soon followed by an owl coming through the window awkwardly due
to its wingspan. Flying across the room it let go of the letter it held to land
right in Hermione's lap before it flew off once again. "-yone." she finished
while staring at the letter embossed with the Ministry symbol in shock.
Now that it was in front of her, she hesitated. It was rather surprising, but,
well... Her shock vanished in that instant and she quickly tore the letter open
and raised it to her face to begin reading the customary greeting.
Dear Hermione Jean Granger,
We, the Ministry of Magic, would like to inform you that as you are seventeen
that you are eligible for the Higher Conception Matrimony Law. Due to you being
in school you may need to speak with a Supervisor or other member of the
Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths due to the third requirement of the
law. We suggest one of the following: Abtol, Cuthota, or Kanis. A Record has
been prepared for you at Saint Mungo's Hospital, please set a date for a check
up within the week of your marriage. Your nurse will be Mrs. Vandis so please
keep health inquires to her only. We suggest if you want to be married in a
specific place to make reservations as early as possible. Please keep all this
in mind and if you have not read the law familiarize yourself with it so the
date falls within the required time.
Congratulations on turning seventeen. We have used old magical means to come up
with your match and we hope you approve of your future husband. Please remember
that we check for all ways possible that the two of you are compatible to lower
the chance of any problems coming up in your marriage. If you do have problems
though please contact a Counsellor to work it out as at this moment you may not
divorce.
We are happy to inform you that our system had paired you with none other than
Bartemius Nyle Crouch Junior.
Quite honestly, her first thought was, that's Barty's middle name? It was only
after that second that she felt panic invade her bones. She was sure her eyes
had gone comically wide when she read the name at the end. Surely the system
set up by the Ministry hadn't paired her up with this... this maniac?
Him and her being compatible?
A laugh escaped her throat and she could feel the stares on her at the nervous
sound that filled the silent air around her.
They had to be kidding. To be joking. Yes! This was all just a big joke. W-why
would they be so cruel to joke about this though? No. No.
She didn't say the words out loud. Rather she shook her head repeatedly as if
that would help clear the current name and put someone else on there instead.
Someone that wasn't a bloody Death Eater. She knew he wasn't innocent. They
wanted her to marry the man that almost killed Harry! A mistake - it had to be
a mistake. She just needed to-to -
Hermione lunged forward to grab a piece of parchment and quill from a desk and
started hastily writing on it only to stop after that damn comma, before she
even started with her outrageous cry of 'Never!' She rolled it up into a ball
and threw it across the room, now seeing the shocked faces everyone was
currently giving her at this reaction. For a moment she was silent then simply
stated,
"I'm going to the Ministry."
"What? Your match can't be that bad." Ginny said quickly while trying to peer
over her shoulder at the letter still in her left hand that she had a death
grip on.
She folded the paper quickly, multiple times so the young Weasley wouldn't see
it. "You don't want to know who." she assured her friend before she was up and
off the bed, sticking her feet back into her shoes without bothering to put on
socks first. Opening the door, she descended down the stairs quickly.
Entering the common room she saw a few Gryffindors were still up. Some fourth
years were in a corner concocting a potion of some kind. If she bothered to
think more about it she could be sure it had something to do with their shop. A
first year was at a desk scribbling frantically away at a roll of parchment,
obviously having waited till the last day to start on their homework. Harry and
Ron were near the small fireplace talking about what sounded like Quidditch.
She walked past the five of them for the door. It swung open before she even
got there and she halted in her tracks when she saw who it was - Professor
McGonagall. The professor glanced down at her as Hermione was standing in the
way of entering the commons. "Where do you think you are going in such a
hurry?"
"The Ministry." Hermione snapped with such distaste and anger that the whole
room seemed to freeze for a moment. The sound of a quill on paper had stopped,
her friends speaking quietly subsided. The only sound was the bubbling from the
cauldron in the corner.
"It's late. It would not be very likely that someone will still be up working
there at this hour. What could you possibly have -" McGonagall's eyes falling
on the crumpled letter in her hand made her stop speaking for a second as an
understanding went into her eyes. "I'm sure out of all the students here you
know what the law says, Miss Granger. There are no changes to whatever match
you have got."
"They made a mistake." Hermione said swiftly. "I need to clear this up as
quickly as possible."
McGonagall looked as if she was going to reprimand her but then sighed. "If
it's really a mistake then you can use the fireplace in my quarters to get
there." Turning the woman started toward a door in the wall, where the girl
dormitories would lie beyond upstairs.
"Who did you get Hermione?"
There was a slight twitch in her eye when Ron spoke. "I don't have the time
right now, Ronald." She walked after the Professor and into the quarters, not
sparing so much of a glance around the room. Once her eyes found the fireplace
she was walking even faster towards it, anger coiling in the pit of her stomach
at the ridiculousness of this situation.
"Try not to be too long, Hermione." McGonagall said, just as she grabbed a
handful of floo powder at the side of the mantle before stepping inside.
Turning around she simply shouted, "Ministry of Magic!", not bothering to
answer as she was enveloped in green flames.
Chapter End Notes
     Updated: 6/2/2016
     -.- corrected phrasing of sentences mostly, that otherwise made no
     sense otherwise. No idea how I missed them before. Fixed all the '-
     ' in this chapter as well, so they should be used correctly in their
     circumstances now.
     If anyone is interested in beta-reading what's published to fix
     grammar, random misspellings and the like; PM me on ff.net. AO3
     currently doesn't have a private messaging system.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Notes
     Thanks to everyone reading this and subscribers!
For a few seconds all she could see was wisps of green and felt the sensation
of spinning around and around. The sparks died down as she arrived at the
Ministry the flames disapearing around her to reveal the long hall that led to
the buildings.
Hermione barely looked around as she stepped out, fingers still clutching the
crumpled letter. It was quite at this time of day, or rather night. Few people
were still walking around instead of the large crowd she had heard some
classmates talk about before when they had visited. Commenting that to be there
was completely overwhelming the first time.
She didn't feel any of that right now though. Just the anger pulsing deep in
her veins. She had started a mantra in her head as she walked past the tall
stone fountain that she didn't care to look at, much less at the details. It's
a mistake. It's a mistake! It's a bloody mistake!
When she entered the building she walked immedietly for the desk infront of her
where a wizard lounged reading the latest copy of the Daily Prophet, or doing
crosswords if the quil in his hand was any clue. "Excuse me." She said trying
to keep the fire out of her voice and sound more buisness-like. "I need to see
someone in the Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths right away."
The man looked up, slightly startled. "I'll have to check if anyone is in right
now and available." he started turning toward a stack of parchment on a tilted
slab to his right before glancing toward her. "Who did the Ministry suggest you
talk with?"
Hermione snapped open her letter again and glanced down at it before looking
back up. "An Abtol, Cuthota, or Kanis." she said quickly before just folding
the parchment once before resuming her death grip on it.
A few seconds passed before the man at the desk turned back to her. "Abtol and
Cuthota are in, but Abtol is currently busy and Cuthota is suppose to be
getting off in just a few minutes."
That was just her damn luck. "Contact Cuthota then and tell him I'm coming to
his office and give me the directions." she said not having any intention of
leaving until she had talked to someone. Besides, he had just said that person
wasn't busy, just about to leave. Which meant they had the time and could deal
with her even if it was overtime.
"I can't. He's getting off soon-"
"So he'll stay a little late. I need to talk to someone right now."
The man sighed. "As I just said. I can not make him stay here overtime. He
already came in early because of another person I'm not going to preassure him
into staying later than needed."
"This is needed!" Hermione snapped so fiercly she thought the guy jumped
slightly when she spoke.
Flattening a part of his robe that got bunched up he frowned at her. "I'm going
to have to ask you to leave Miss."
"I'm not leaving until I've talked to someone about this!" she waved the folded
letter in his face that had a inked copy of the Ministry insignia on the back
of it.
"That law doesn't let you switch-"
"I know about the damn law! That's why I need to speak with someone to get this
cleared up!"
He flinched as her screaming started again. "I would appreciate it if you
didn't yell. Please leave and come back tomorrow early in the morning and if
there's a legitamate problem we can get it cleared th-"
"Is there a problem here?"
Her blood ran ice cold at the voice. All proud and stuck up-like. She could
remember it as distinctly as the first time she heard it back in her second
year. It could only belong to one person. Lucius Malfoy. She was about to whirl
on him when the front desk representitive spoke up, "This Miss refuses to leave
without seeing Supervisor Cuthota who is suppose to be getting off right about
now."
"If you were to send a message that he has one last visitor I could take her to
his office."
The man looked about ready to protest but then sighed in indignation. "I'll
send a message right away. I shouldn't have to tell you to get there quickly
incase it doesn't arrive before yourselves." turning back to his crossword
Hermione got the distinct feeling like he had just let Malfoy take her off his
hands rather than deal with him herself.
Look at the bright side, you're getting to go see this Cuthota about this
horrendous match. Then on the bad side, you're going to be escorted there by
none other than Lucius Malfoy.
Something cold and metallic brushed her shoulder and she turned quickly to look
at Malfoy. "Follow me." he said before removing the top of his cane from her
shoulder and turning to go deeper into the building. Begrudgingly she followed
after him, glaring at his back the whole way, twisting through the hallways
till coming to a stop at a door. "Here's your stop, mudblood."
Hermione's eye twitched at the insult. "I can see where your son gets his
manners." she retorted in retaliation then opened the door to see an office and
walked inside just to get away from the small-minded pure-blood slamming the
door behind her. The sound jarred the person searching among a rack of files in
the office for just a moment, and then he was going back to whatever it was he
was doing.
"Mr Cuthota?" she asked while drawing out a seat to sit in.
"Yes." The man replied still sifting through before he found what he was
looking for a second later with a little "aha." sound. Closing the file drawer
he turned to her and walked over to sit in the seat across from hers laying
what he had found out on the table. "You must be Hermione Granger soon to be
Crouch I believe it was. I just got a notice that you would be coming in. These
are the papers and a magical copy of the record at the hospital though it won't
have anything in it right now."
She was stunned for a moment. Crouch. Hermione Crouch? Merlin she wished people
would never associate her with that person. Either person. His father was a bit
of an idiot and had broken the law himself. The son was just a complete bloody
psychopath. For her to be given that last name, to be reffered to as such
already... She very much did not like it. "Right." she said lifting her letter
up to set on the table. "I needed to talk to you about that." She paused for a
moment but when he just looked at her patiently she continued, "I think there's
been a mistake." She opened the letter to simply point at the name Bartemius.
"We're definetly not compatible. I don't know if you read the Daily Prophet or
not but he tried to kill Harry, my friend and almost succeeded. There's no way
I'm marrying him. Much less procreating." A shiver ran through her at the idea
and she was sure her face twisted into an expression of absolute disgust.
"When the result came from the matchmaking ritual it was figured that might be
a problem with you-"
"Figured!" she screamed before quickly reining herself in at the surprised look
on his face from the sudden uncivil reaction. "So what, you already have a
solution? Like a back-up to-be-husband." she didn't bother to hide what outcome
she wanted.
"Can't do that." Those words tempted her to raise her hands and tear her hair
out. Who the hell added that to the law! It was completely ridiculous! "Our
'solution' as you call it is very simple. You'll be getting a marriage
counselor to help with any bumps in the relationship."
She felt her jaw drop and quickly closed it. "What?"
"Well it hasn't been decided who in this Department will have the job yet as
it's still being looked over but whoever it is will help with anything that
comes up. Of course it'll be up to you to schedule any meetings and go to them
so whatever it is can be worked out." There was a slight pause in words as he
reached for the file and drew a paper out to put on the table. She didn't have
to look down at it to know what it was. "If you haven't read the law already
you should. There's no mistake with the match. Not with anyones. You can't
change it. Since you're here now why don't we get a date for the marriage set
up so it's already on file?" He set his hands on the desk in a rather
diplomatic way.
Hermione seethed for a few seconds, every cell in her being still flowing with
anger; then she blinked. "The last possible day." At least then she could put
it off for four months while thinking of a way out of this. Cuthota looked
slightly surprised at that. "Maybe I'll... get used to the idea by then." she
was lying, of course. If she was certain of anything it was this: she would
never get used to the idea of being married to Bartemius.
"That could be possible." he said slowly. "But why don't we wait another minute
until your husband gets here since it's a decision the two of you should make
together? As a way to start out on the right foot and have atleast some contact
with eachother."
She could feel her jaw drop once again. "That psyc-he's on his way here? Now?"
she tried to hide the fact of calling her future husband a psycho but Cuthota
seemed to have caught that anyway.
He sighed in such a dramatic way she had to wonder if it was rehearsed. "He's
not a pyscho. The tests were conclusive that he wasn't guilty for any of those
crimes. It was simply unfortunate that he was locked up in Azkaban for the last
few years, again."
"He helped in the torture of the Longbottoms. Or did you forget?" Hermione
scowled and shot up from her chair glancing toward the door, checking that no
one had entered the room silently while she was speaking. Seeing no one she
turned back to Cuthota with a frown. "I'm not marrying him." After a moments
pause she grabbed the paper he had sat down infront of her, slamming it back
down onto the table to face him and pointing at the Uphold clause number five a
second later, "'If you are not capable of having children this law does not
apply to you.' That man whether guilty or somehow innocent in this twisted
world of the Ministry has still dabbled in the dark arts. There is no bloody
way he is still able to have children after messing with that magic."
"Bartemius was checked upon being cleared of his crimes and leaving Azkaban as
he fell within the age group for the law. It would have been irresponsible of
us to not have him tested and still included in the ritual."
She bit at her lip. How was it that she was being blocked at every possible way
to get out of this marriage? Hermione blinked then grinned down at him, laying
her hands on the desk. "I haven't been checked. How do you know if I can
concieve or not?"
This was the first time she saw Cuthota look, what was the correct word?
Surprised? His face didn't really change enough for her to tell accurately.
"Well, it's best to run the test earlier than later." His face had dropped back
into buisness style as he picked up another paper from the files. "What day
would you like to go in and have that checked? Can't be the last, since that's
when you want the wedding. I would suggest a week before atleast."
She didn't respond at first. Her mind wandering back to what she had heard in
school, back at the library, while hidden behind a stack of books. "How old is
Barty?"
"Pardon?" He looked rather confused at the change in subject.
"A school mate said that their uh, husband was in his twenties. She was a
seventh year." Hermione explained.
"Oh, yes. Some couples do have age gaps. Bartemius is thirty four." Her eyes
widened. "There are plenty of couples that were situated with similar age gaps,
smaller, some even larger. It's not unusual." Damn. He must have known what she
was going to ask since he answered the question without her having to. "Now, as
I was saying before about that conception check up. You said you wanted the
wedding on the last day possible, right?" Hermione just nodded slowly, still in
shock. She grabbed for the edge of the chair and sat herself slowly back down,
mind spinning. She was getting married to a person seventeen years her senior?
Give or take a few months that is. She could really only think of one thing
with that information running through her mind.
Her parents were going to flip out.
"Miss Granger?"
She blinked and shook her head quickly, refocusing on Cuthota. "Y-yes? I mean,
what?"
"Check up. At Saint Mugos Hospital. What day did you want it?"
Right. That. When did she want to be checked if she could bear children or not?
"Oh. Umm-"
"What's this about a check up at the hospital?"
"Conception thing. Contra-one. Hopefully." She blinked a moment later after the
words left her mouth. That hadn't been Cuthota speaking. "Who?" she questioned
while turning in her chair to glance up at the person who had evidently just
come through the door. Hermione had to tilt her head back a bit to see the face
of the man infront of her but she immediately recognized it from the Daily
Prophet. "Bloody hell!" she shouted, scrambling back in the chair-trying to
anyways. It didn't really work, being in a chair and all. It clattered to the
floor, with her in it. She yelped in surprise as she fell-but didn't hit the
floor.
There were fingers wrapped around her upper arm. Glancing back up rather than
at the ground she straightened herself to a standing position before tugging
her arm from Barty's grip. "Don't touch me." she snapped at him, glaring
outright.
"Well it would seem we are off to a rocky start."
She swung her head around so fast it made a whoosh sound. "You think this is
funny?"
"On the contrary I'm rather tired and would like to get to my bed sometime
tonight. So if you two could just sit down, calmly, and we can talk the rest of
your plans out." Hermione scowled, glaring at the Supervisor as she wordlessly
accioed the chair up to its original spot and sat back down. She did her best
to ignore the chair scraping to her right signaling that her 'husband to-be'
had sat down. "Okay then. Thank you for joining us Bartemius." Cuthota gave a
nod in his direction causing Hermione's eye to twitch. She would much rather he
bugger off. "So, about that day."
"Tomorrow." Barty said before she could even speak.
She turned to look at him, glaring openly. "What?"
He glanced to her in turn. "The earlier we figure out if you can concieve the
better right? Or else we're just wasting Ministry time." She frowned at those
words, a nagging in the back of her mind that there was an underlying in them.
"If it's fine with you that is."
With a huff she turned away from him. "Whatever."
"So that's set then?" Cuthota asked, exchanging a glance with each of them.
Hermione nodded in the affirmative and watched silently as he wrote on the
piece of paper in front of him, filling out seperate parts of the sheet before
turning it towards her. She grabbed the quil from him before he even spoke and
signed her name down before giving it back to him.
"We're done here then. Right?" Hermione asked, glaring at each of the two
before settling back on Cuthota as she would rather not look at Barty. She
hoped all she had to do now was get back into the Gryfindor Tower, find a spell
of some sort to make her appear anti-baby, go to the check up and then be done
with this stupidity.
"Not yet. If your check up turns out to be negative it won't matter, but if
positive then you'll still need a day for the marriage-"
"We already talked about this." Hermione snapped. "I told you, 'the last
possible day', or did you miss that somehow?"
Cuthota's expression held the barest skeleton of a frown. "Yes. We-" he pointed
a finger between him and her, "talked. As I told you before though, I need to
speak with both of you about the marriage so you can both agree on the selected
date. Being able to make a decision together is a part of marriage, and besides
that, it would be unfair if a date was selected without the others knowledge of
when. Part of my job here is making sure you both agree to it so we here at the
Ministry have it on record. There's going to be a lot of marriages within the
next four months and we need to keep track of them all and make sure everyone
shows up. Now a person can't show up if they don't know what the day is, so
this is why we're doing this." A slight pause as he took a breath. "If you two
would like a moment to discuss now is the time. Unless you want to come in
another time but it'll probably be really busy tomorrow and most of the
following week. I don't know if I would have time to see you two again."
Hermione glanced to Barty. "I stand by my decision."
A smile creeped its way across his rugged features. "Now that's not much of a
discussion if you've already made the decision ahead of time, Hermione."
"Don't call me that." she snapped.
"Then what should I call you?" he inquired looking rather serious about the
matter.
"Nothing. We're not aquantinces. Not friends. Most definitely not husband and
wife. So, you will call me nothing."
"Nothing." he repeated with a smile that irked her. "Nice name."
She rolled her eyes. "Nothing as in as far as you are concerned we never met in
the first place."
"So we're starting out on a clean slate?"
"Definitely not."
"Miss Granger it is then." Her nose twitched at the reminder of when he was the
Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher back in her fourth year. Barty had turned
to look back at Cuthota though. "About that, 'last possible day' date," She
scowled openly at him. Weren't they suppose to be talking about it? "that's not
going to work for me."
Hermione snapped out from her glaring contest with the side of his head. "Why
not? What could possibly be wrong with it? Does it conflict with your Death
Eater schedule?" That had to be it.
"No." he said, having turned to face her again as he spoke. "If you read the
Daily Prophet, Miss Granger, you would know that I've been cleared of any and
all crimes and therefore am not a Death Eater. So there's no way it could
conflict with a nonexistent schedule of mine. By putting my marriage to the
last possible day it would make it seem as if I was trying to get out of this
and even though my name is cleared a lot of people still think I'm a Death
Eater, like you for instance-"
"I wonder why." Hermione hissed under her breath.
"-and even people in the Ministry itself. Therefore it would be better for me
to get married sooner. Say, in two months?"
"Three."
"Days?"
"Months." she snapped irritably.
"You don't like days?"
"I don't like you."
"And why is that?"
"You tried to kill Harry!"
"Again you're missing the-"
"I don't care what the Daily Prophet says. It's a load of codswallop! And if
you think saying I was 'under the influence' is going to get you anywhere with
me then that bloody ritual was most definitely not on your side."
"Two."
"What?"
"One."
"I don't compromise with Death Eaters."
"Not."
"I don't bloody care."
"So one would be fine."
"No it would not!"
"You just said you didn't bloody care."
"Not for that! I stick by three. Months!"
"Two and a half."
"Is this a game to you?'
"Yes. A quarter."
"No."
"Half a quarter."
"I refuse your proposition of two weeks."
"One."
"One what?"
"Anything."
"Year."
"That's cheating Hermione Jean Granger."
"How the hell do you know my full name?"
"Invintation."
"I don't recall this being a party."
"What about a game?"
"This isn't a game. This is my life. Now quit it."
"This is my life too."
"Something tells me it doesn't matter as much to you."
"What would that be?"
"My sixth sense."
"Six days?"
"No! Three. I mean-"
"Days."
"Stop it!"
"Thirty."
"Shut up!"
"Twenty nine."
"Bugger off!"
"Eighteen."
"Seventeen!'
"Six!"
"Fiv-Hey!"
"Tetrad."
"What does Tetris have to do with this?'
"Ternion."
"This isn't The Grid."
"It's not?"
"No!"
"What if I dual?"
"You're giving me a bloody headache!"
"I'm not the one screaming at the tops of my lungs."
"Well this must be just dandy for you then!"
"It is. Want a solitary pill?"
"What color is it?"
"Blue."
"Whatever."
"Okay."
"Good."
"So we got that all sorted out now?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to go back on your word?"
"No-what?"
"You heard her Cuthota."
"Finally, both of you sign here." The Supervisor said sounding tired.
"What?" Hermione repeated as she turned to the desk that Barty was now facing
where he was signing his name on a piece of parchment. "We didn't come to an
agreement." She said as the Ministry Supervisor drew the paper toward her once
Barty was done, pointing at the line she was to sign with a quil. Frowning she
took the quil and looked down at the paper. Her eyes scanned over the formal
parts to where the date had appeared. For a moment she was rendered speechless.
"T-tomorrow?"
"Please sign the paper so we can get this over with, and remember, it's only if
your fertility test is conclusive." Oh yes, let's wish like crazy that I'm not
capable of having children. Why did she ever agree to have that test done
tomorrow? She could feel the quil being pressed into her hand that was moved to
hover over the line. "Miss Granger?"
She bit at her lip for a moment before glancing up at Cuthota with a smile. "I
won't do it. Throw me in Azkaban." At his raised brow she continued, "That's
part of your law isn't it? I'm going against your law. So just thrown me in
Azkaban already."
The only response she got was him shaking his head at her. "That won't be
necessary." She blinked. So she didn't have to go to Azkaban? They would let
her just walk out the door? "You are to sign the paper, so please just sign
it."
Her smile slowly slipped from her face. The air in the room suddenly felt cold
around her. As if it had gone from fall to the middle of winter in the blink of
an eye. An alarm was starting up in the back of her mind, a distant ring. "What
do you mean sign it? I don't have to. It's not required. It says right there,"
she jabbed at the parchment containing the written law. "That if I go against
the law that I would be thrown in Azkaban for a year. If I were to try and run
I would get two years, and if someone were to try and stop-this-oh." It didn't
apply to her. She could see that in Cuthota's eyes now. Hermione was also
suddenly very aware that she was alone in the Ministry with these two people.
"I have a wand." she said slowly, while reaching for it.
Something poked her in the side of her neck causing her eyes to widen further
and dart over to glance at Barty who held the wand to her throat. "We all have
wands Miss Granger. That includes Lucius outside the door. Now, if you would."
Cuthota said while tilting his open palm at the paper infront of her.
Her eyes darted from Barty to Cuthota, towards the door, back to the
Supervisor, then down at the parchment infront of her. She was surrounded then.
Opening her mouth she spoke slowly, "I won't-" the wand poked further against
her throat and she hesitated, "sign it." There was a sort of sharp pain along
her neck, quick and only there for a second. Even so she could feel a trickle
of blood running from the tip of where the wand lay against her skin, traveling
down to the crevice of her collar bone. "You can't force me." Her heart started
to pound harder as she stared at the paper that was suppose to seal her fate.
A breath coasted along her face as she could sense Barty leaning over, closer
until his lips brushed against her ear when he spoke, "I can't?" There was a
slight pause. "Tell me, Hermione. Who knows that you're here?" She just mouthed
the word, eleven suddenly not able to get her mouth to work properly. "Who else
saw the letter besides you?" No one. "Then who, pray tell, knows why you are
here?" No. "Is your hand broken?" She didn't answer. "I asked you a question."
Not yet. "Would you like to know what it feels like to have your hand broken?"
"Not particularly."
Her head snapped to the side as the harsh sound filled the air following the
sting on her cheek. "This isn't the time to be a smart ass, Hermione."
She blinked slowly, raising a hand to touch her cheek, momentarily replicating
the curve at which she had been hit. "Don't." Her voice sounded small even to
her own ears.
Her hand was tugged back down from her face as fingers wrapped around her wrist
to slam it against the arm of the chair. Her wrist stung in response. It moved
away a moment later and she felt those same fingers holding her chin, tugging
it to the side so she had to look into his dark brown eyes. "Don't what?"
"Don't call me that."
There was a sigh and he let go of her chin. Her head dropped to look down at
the parchment again, to see her hand still poised over the line. It was as if
his hand had been holding her head up. "Let's try this again. Shall we?" She
bit at her lip when she felt the blood start to overflow from the shallow cusp
of her neck and start down again. The wand pressed harder against her throat
and she flinched when it hit the part where the spell had made the cut. "Put
your name on the line. It's very simple." She didn't move. "Do I need remind
you that no one is coming here? If someone had even reached the reception area
we would have gotten a letter."
Hermione just closed her eyes. "You won't kill me."
"Whoever said anything about killing?" The wand tip was dragged across her
skin, that short sharp pain returned. It curved against her skin, forming a
crescent, blood flowing after it. For a long moment afterwards it was silent.
She could just feel the blood running over her skin, sense his prescence next
to her, hear his soft controlled breathing at her ear. Fingers curled back over
her hand, the one that held the quil. It started the downward stroke and her
hand followed the familiar movements afterward. No more guidance needed. "There
you go." A hand stroked a strand of hair from her face.
Opening her eyes slowly she looked down at the page, the quil falling from her
hands as she read it.
  Hermione Granger and Bartemius Crouch, to be married on the twenty fifth of
                        September, nineteen ninety six.
"Stupefy." A red light bloomed along the right side of her face
Her vision went black.
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Notes
     I don't know what to put here... ummm Good morning/afternoon/evening!
     Enjoy the latest chapter my duckies! (i don't know why... *goes off
     to corner*)
There was a pecking coming from the window. The owl fluttering outside of it
insistent on being let in. Thankfully the wizard it was choosing to wake up was
a light sleeper. Albus Dumbledore got up from the bed and walked over to
unlatch the window and let the bird of prey in to land on the writing desk,
promptly dropping a letter before taking back off through the window.
Apparently it wasn't going to wait around for a reply so it must be a notice of
some sort.
Closing the window again he walked over and sat down in the chair before
looking down to see the usual Ministry seal on the letter. He opened it
gingerly, picking up his glasses afterward so they could perch on his nose as
he looked down to read what he guessed to be important if the Ministry had sent
an owl to wake him up in the morning before even the students would be up.
Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore,
We would like to inform you that one of your students, Hermione Granger, will
not be able to arrive to classes today. As you are probably aware the Higher
Conception Matrimony Law was passed just yesterday and she came in just last
night to discuss plans with us. As it was late we had to push most of it to the
next day and we hope to have everything done as soon as possible so she can
return to classes.
We apologize for any inconvience this may cause.
Sincerely, Supervisor Cuthota of the Department of Marriages, Births, and
Deaths
                                     / / /
"Hermione."
She jumped at the word. At her name. Hadn't she told him to not call her that?
Multiple times even. She went to part her lips and found she couldn't. Her
fingers twitched, flying up to check they were still there. Finding that he
hadn't used her own wand to mutilate her lips as well after doing so to her
neck she let out a sigh of relief.
There was a nudge at her shoulder.
Whirling she only saw darkness and backed up slowly, staring around at the
suddenly dark room. There was a soft laugh and she took another step back
feeling an unpleasant shiver run down her spine. Where was he?
A light preassure at the back of her neck was her answer. She made a small
sound in her throat feeling the blood running down, directly over her spine.
Her shoulder was shaken harder and she gasped aloud. Surprised to hear her own
voice, more-or-less anyways, she opened her eyes to be met by blindingly bright
light. "Uh." she brought a hand up to block the light, blinking as she adjusted
to it.
"Hermione Granger?"
She glanced towards where the feminine voice came from, lowering her hand to
see a woman standing infront of her. Strawberry locks curled around a pale face
with a pair of green eyes looking down at her, a white witch's hat sat on the
top of her head. "Umm, yes?" She said slowly her head still throbbing as if she
had run into a wall.
"You looked like you were having a nightmare. I'm Mrs. Vandis, the nurse the
Ministry assigned to you. I got a letter to come in early to run your test as
you wanted it done today." Today? Wait. Tomorrow. Tomorrow was today. When did
that happen? "Don't worry it won't take too long, just a few spells. You came
in with a rather nasty looking injury but I stopped the bleeding, the scar is
still there though. I couldn't get it to go away, seemed like dark magic but if
I'm correct in thinking that it was the Unguis Punctura spell then it should
fade away by itself. It just can't be poofed away with magic unfortunately. Not
very deadly, just annoying in that aspect."
Hermione blinked up at her as she slowly sat up and swung her legs off the
hospital bed. "Scar?" She raised her hand up to touch at the right side of her
neck and found a bandage pressed to it.
"Yes. I would advise against touching it-" she moved her hand away quickly, "so
that it can heal." Mrs Vandis finished in a slower tone of voice. "Are you
okay?"
Hermione glanced around the room. It was stark white, both magical and muggle
healing books stacked in a shelf running along the outer wall. "Yes. I think
so." She bit at her lip. "This is the Saint Mugos Hospital, right?" she asked
slowly recalling that the wand that had made whatever sort of scar on her neck
had been her own. Quickly she checked her robes feeling a surge of panic run
through her. It wasn't there. Last she remembered it had been in Barty's hands.
He still had it then.
"Okay. So just follow me to the room and I'll run the tests and you can go and
get ready for that wedding I heard you were having today."
Her blood froze over. Wedding. Today. Tomorrow was today. Right. Which... no.
Wait a second Hermione. Just calm down, she told herself. Think this through.
Fighting to keep her voice under control she turned to look at the nurse, Mrs.
Vandis. "How did I get here?" she asked, it being the most prominent question
in her mind.
The woman was currently writing something on a clipboard, manually. She must be
muggleborn. "Oh, your husband or rather, husband-to-be, Barty came by and
dropped you off along with a copy of the paper that held the day you had wanted
to do the test on for our personal records." Okay, maybe she wasn't muggleborn.
Hermione shifted on the bed, slipping off it to touch the floor without a
sound. Was this woman a Death Eater as well? Like the Supervisor back at the
Ministry? What had been his name? Something Cuthota. She didn't think he had
actually every properly introduced himself. "Ready?' The woman finally looked
up and over at her.
She wasn't entirely sure. It was such a simple question but... she could always
wish she figured, that she was secretly barren or something of the sort. Taking
in a breath she nodded, "Yes. I'm ready." Get the test done, then get the
bloody hell out of here. "Is..." she started slowly, unsure at first, but she
had to know. "Is anyone else here?"
Mrs. Vandis shook her head. "No, no one else is scheduled to be in for another
half hour. I came in early since your test and marriage were set on the same
day and I figured you would have things to do." The nurse smiled then, "It's an
important day for you. I wouldn't want to keep you from it any longer than
absolutely necessary. You only get married once, especially with this new law.
It should be special."
Hermione had to force her lips to curl up into and a smile and give a little
nod just before Mrs. Vandis turned back away and started walking down the hall.
Her face crumpled the moment the nurse had turned away. The woman had sounded
genuine and with the way she suddenly got all happy at the mention of marriage
Hermione was positive that the woman herself wasn't a Death Eater. Not like
Cuthota had been. She was also positive though that they weren't actually
alone. After what happened at the Ministry she was sure she was under
surveilance even right now. That Barty had dropped her off convinced her of
this even further.
With a sigh she followed after the nurse into the hallway to another room where
the tests were to be run. Her mind was still spinning from what Mrs. Vandis had
said. Who she kept thinking was a muggleborn, though she was unsure why Death
Eaters would let a muggleborn be her nurse when they had obviously manipulated
her situation so that Cuthota would be the Supervisor she went too.
Special.
That word kept floating through her mind.
Yes, her marriage should be special. It should be a day she looked forward too
rather than dread. But this wasn't what she wanted. Infact at this point she
was sure her ritual test had been messed with. She could distinctly remember
her mother talk about her own wedding when she asked as a child. Words like
magical had been used to describe the event to her seven year old mind. The
fact that she wouldn't be getting that made her blood boil.
Not being able to choose her own husband. A ritual choosing for her. A ritual
that had been tampered with by Death Eaters for some unknown reason. Those
little facts twisted hard into her gut, her eyes felt as if they were burning
up. Why out of everyone else was she picked for this? What did they even want?
She knew though that she wouldn't be getting the answers anytime soon.
"Please sit down and lay back." Mrs. Vandis said, waving an arm at a table in
the center of the room covered by the usual thin white cloth. Hermione hopped
up onto the surface, scooting back until her feet were on the table then laying
back to look up at the ceiling. Luckily there was no bright light right above
her.
"So, how does this work?" She asked not even knowing what sort of spells or
testing in general was used to check one's fertility.
"Well," There was a sound of a drawer being opened, "first I have to take a
blood sample for your record of coming here, and making sure it's you." At
Hermione's incredolous look the woman explained, "It's part of the law that the
Ministry passed. The Prophet only detailed out what the public had to know
about it, not about how everything was to be checked. Though I'm sure if you
asked they would give you the full detailed document. The good news is we only
have to take blood on your first arrival and you get a cookie out of the deal."
"Oh." That made sense. In case someone used the Polyjuice Potion as it only
changed outward appearances and not the DNA of the person who drinks it.
"Okay, give me your arm." She watched as the woman turned her arm over, dabbing
at it with a cotton ball leaving behind some wet substance on her skin. The
needle was inserted shortly after and the syringe was filled with blood rather
quickly as it was small. She doubted more than a few centimeters were being
held within. Mrs. Vandis left her side for a moment with it, coming back
shortly after. "Seeing as you are Hermione Granger we can begin. I'll need to
ask you some questions first."
"Okay." Hermione said and waited for the first question to be asked.
"Do you have any allergies to medical prescriptions?"
"No."
"Have your ever had any chronic illnesses? Any medical surgery?"
"Not really. I had the flu consecutively for two years when I was five but
otherwise I have a high metabolism and don't get sick very often. And, no."
There was the sounds of a pen scribbling across paper. "You used prescription
medication for that?"
"Yes. Switched to healing spells after I turned eleven. Only ever had to use
them three times."
"Alright. Ever been exposed to any harmful chemicals or toxins?"
"Not that I know of."
"Been involved in any sexual activities?"
Heat raised to her cheeks at the question even though she knew it was for a
purely medical reason. "No." she murmured.
There were a few seconds where she could just hear the pen clearly scratching
out some other questions from the sheet in the woman's hand. "Has your
menstrual cycle been consecutive over the last year?"
"Yes."
"Seen any large blood clots?"
"No."
There was a click of the pen and then footsteps moving away again. Hermione
turned her head to try and see what the woman was doing but couldn't as her
back blocked what she was doing though she did hear papers being rustled
around. "I just need to do a few spells now." Seeing the nurse turn around with
wand in hand Hermione's eyes followed her movements. The older witch stopped
next to her, pulling up the bottom of her shirt until the material was bunched
up beneath her breasts then laid her wand on top of her skin. No words were
spoken but a glow started at the tip of the wand and Mrs. Vandis moved it
slowly back and forth. When Hermione glanced toward the woman's face she
noticed her eyes were glowing the same color and she looked out of it, as if
she was seeing something else infront of her.
The wand movements had continued for a minute and then it glowed a different
color and was swept across her hips. Hermione was just thankful that her
clothes hadn't been rearranged for this spell like the last one. "Hmmm,"
Upon hearing the woman suddenly make a sound she couldn't resist asking,
"What?" With a slight flutter of panic in her stomach. She wasn't quite sure
where it had come from though. She wanted this test to be negative. To get her
out of this situation. To make these Death Eaters leave her alone. So that she
didn't have to marry one.
"Nothing. Just some bruises. Have you been in any fights recently?"
Her heart thundered in her chest as she remembered what had happened in fifth
year. "Yes. Last semester I got hit by some unidentified curse. That's probably
where that came from." she paused for a second though. "What do you mean it's
bruised?" she hadn't seen any marks on her skin for the last few months.
"The bone itself." There was a pause. "One moment. This may burn." She hardly
had anytime to prepare when her right hip flared with heat as if on fire. Her
eyes widened for a second when it increased but it was soon cooling back down.
She sighed softly when a pulse of cold air seemed to flow through her bone
there. "That should be fine now."
It grew quite again and stayed that way as the last few spells were cast and
there were no more little comments inbetween them or any questioning sounds
from the nurse. Hermione couldn't help but be impressed that all of them were
cast without a sound from the woman. Must have been well versed in the spells
so that they worked so well nonverbally.
"Done." Hermione glanced at her curiously wondering what conclusion she had
come to. Hoping it was in her favor. "You're fine. Should have no problems with
getting pregnate." Her heart sank and she could feel the blood draining from
her face, making her appear pale. Mrs. Vandis wasn't looking her way though as
she had turned away once again to go and open some container on the counter.
When she turned back around Hermione had to force a smile on her face. "Here's
a cookie." The way the words left her mouth, it was as if the woman believed
that such a simple bakery good could get rid of all the problems in the world.
Well, she wouldn't mind borrowing that philosophy for a little while. Until her
life completely went to hell that was. Hermione pushed herself up to a sitting
position, straightening her shirt out before taking the cookie. "Thank you."
Mrs. Vandis smiled back. "Welcome. See you again in two months." With a nod at
her Hermione began to slip from the table, intent on getting out of the
building and maybe going into hiding. "Oh. I'll escort you to the waiting
room."
For a moment she felt the urge to turn her down but then nodded. Being escorted
by a fellow muggleborn was better than an arrogant pureblood. Going back down
the hall she made a mental note of which hall led to different areas out of
habit. She found herself also wondering where the Death Eaters were located.
"The waiting room is right through that door. See you later Miss Granger."
Hermione gave an absent nod, watching the nurse walk back down the hall for a
moment before turning around to open the door to the waiting room which would
consequently lead outside. She stopped in her tracks though after entering the
room staring at another woman sitting in a chair across from her. Hair starting
out as dark brown that became wisps of white strands framing her face. Dark
blue eyes looking back at Hermione as if studying her. Narcissa Malfoy pushed
herself up from the leather furniture. "Hermione," she greeted. "I'll be taking
you to the mansion to help you get prepared for the wedding."
Her minds spun at the words, the implication that everything had been throughly
thought out so that she couldn't run away. She wondered half-heartedly if she
could apparate within the hospital walls. It was a few more seconds before she
found control of her voice again. "Narcissa," she replied after the Malfoy had
said her own first name though after that she couldn't find anything to say for
awhile. What was one suppose to say in this kind of situation? 'Thanks for
escorting me to hell?' Taking in a slow breath trying to stop the wave of panic
from rising in her she asked, "Who else is here?" There had to be others. No
way could Narcissa have come by herself.
The woman smiled at this. "A few people."
Hermione closed her eyes for a moment. So she had been correct in her
assumption. They were clearly not going to let her out of their sight until she
was in a secure location. Not a public place. The mansion. The Malfoy's
Mansion. She would be in one of their homes. "If I were to get away?" she
asked.
"That won't happen."
"Right." she muttered, opening her eyes slowly to look over at the Malfoy.
Taking in a breath Hermione walked forward until Narcissa grabbed her wrist and
pulled her out the door. The moment they were off the Hospital premises there
was a soft crack as Narcissa apparated them away.
Another crack echoed in her ears and for a moment Hermione's head swam from the
after feeling of apparating. There was a tugging at her arm, leading her over
somewhere before pushing her down to sit on a piece of furniture in the room.
She tried to look around the room but a pair of finger wrapped around her chin
and forced her gaze forward and Hermione found herself looking into Narcissa's
eyes. "Not white." the woman murmured. "Darker maybe." She blinked as the
Malfoy let go and walked away towards another section of the room and she could
hear drawers opening again. What had that been about?
With her out of the way though she could know see that she was in a bedroom.
One with dust layers of dust still on some of the furniture or a white cloth
thrown over it. The only pieces that were free of dust was a black wood vanity
pressed up on the far wall, twin silver snakes wrapping up each individual side
of the mirror. The chair tucked in it; also black wood, a snake along the back
of the chair, a white cushion. Turning her head she noticed a small set of
drawers next to it was also clear of dust and when she looked towards Narcissa
she could see her going through a large drawer that was also dust free. Pushing
her palm against the couch she sat on she could feel the leather and could
guess that the color was also black. That this room was a guest room and
judging from the way there were still white cloths over the bed that this was
just a temporary set up for her.
She found herself wondering as she sat there listening silently to the sounds
of clothes being rustled around. Finally she voiced what had been nagging at
the back of her mind ever since it all clicked together back at the Ministry.
"Why?'
The rustling stopped momentarily. "Why as in, why you? Why this place? Or why
now?"
"All of them."
There was a heavy sigh and then a simple, "I don't know." as her answer.
Hermione turned her gaze to look at the Malfoy, wondering how that was
possible. "But you're a Death Eater."
The woman's lips pulled taut as her expression became even more neutral then
before. "Lucius is the one who took the mark. The Dark Lord uses our place
frequently for meetings, to plan things out, as I would imagine you would
already know from the Order's own sources. I never took the mark. So I'm not a
Death Eater." The rustling stopped. "Here it is." Turning around Hermione's
eyes wend wide at the white dress Narcissa held in her hands.
Upon closer inspection as it was brought into the light she saw the fabric was
actually both silver and ivory. A combination of lace with an english netting.
It was hanging from Narcissa's fingers by the contour straps. The neckline
dipping down to form a low V. The actual shape of the dress was skinny until it
came towards the bottom down past the hip to spead out more. It was turned
around and she could see the almost heart-shaped opening in the back, how the
part of the dress around the upper half of it was partially see through. Being
turned back she took notice of the floral design implemented into the material.
"Put it on."
"What?" Hermione tore her gaze from the dress to look at Narcissa. "What for?"
"Your wedding. I had the house elves go and get it yesterday." The woman paused
as she looked at her. "It'll fit. Measurements were taken while you were...
out." As in knocked out. Stupified into unconsciousness. "I've been asked to
help you get ready for it." There was a long pause where they just stared at
eachother for a moment. "I insisted that you wear one." Her voice had lowered
but Hermione still heard her.
She hadn't expected that to come out of her mouth. She had expected for the
dress to be throw at her, to be told to just throw it on before being marched
to wherever the marriage was to take place. That it was all just to degrade her
further. "Why?"
"Surely you know the Ministry will not be going back on their law anytime soon.
This will be your only marriage-"
"To Barty." Hermione muttered, still not wanting to believe it even as
everything was happening so quickly around her, at lightspeed.
Narcissa continued as if she hadn't said a thing, "-for as long as the law
stays. Which no one knows when it will end. You should be able to dress up for
today like any other woman-"
"Why I would I want to dress up for Barty!" Hermione exploded, jumping straight
to her feet to glare at Narcissa. "I don't want to marry him! I'm seventeen! I
shouldn't be getting married right now! I should be able to make the decision
of who I'm married to, but instead the Ministry comes across this ritual to
choose who you're with! One that was tampered with quite obviously! I don't
know what you-the Death Eaters are trying to get out of this but I am not going
to play these games! I-" Hermione struggled to take a breath, feeling all her
frustration just bubbling over after having the time to brew for hours
beforehand. "I should be able to enjoy my wedding day! But instead I'm being
forced to marry Barty of all people! Who, by the way, scarred my neck just
hours ago with dark magic! This-this-" She gasped as she felt the tears rolling
down her cheeks, finding herself unable to speak, to shout, as her body shook
with sobs.
There was a soft sigh and she felt a hand on her shoulder, moving her slowly
across the room to be sat down in the plush chair. "I know this must be hard
for you-"
"What would you know?" Hermione snapped inbetween her little hiccups.
"I didn't get to choose my marriage either you know. It was arranged by my
parents. Not quite the same as your situation but I can understand how you must
be feeling, I felt it before too." Hermione snorted in disbelief. "Just take a
moment to calm down and put the dress on and we'll get started with your hair
then." With that Narcissa turned and started going through the small drawers
nearby.
She forced down another sob, taking a moment to clear her head, rein her
emotions back in. This is what they want, she told herself. They want you to
react this way, so don't. Nodding her head determindly she got up from the
vanity chair and walked over to the dress, beginning to take her robes off.
"Wait."
Hermione turned and felt heat rise to her cheeks once again. In outstretched
hands was a matching pair of rather raunchy black lace bra and knickers.
Hesitantly she took them from the Malfoy who turned back around to go back to
the small drawers. Once the embaressment had died down she realized she was to
put these on and remembered the part of the law that said to consumate the
marriage on the wedding day. Her blush deepened further from both embaressment
and anger this time. Perhaps she should have made a marriage of convience to
someone else, just so that she wouldn't have to be with a Death Eater. "If I
were to make a run for it right now... what would you say my chances are?"
"Zero percent." Narcissa looked up and over her shoulder at the Gryfindor girl,
a slight frown was etched across her face. "I wish I could say it's not that
bad but... your situation is largely different then mine was. I wasn't getting
married to an enemy." Hermione couldn't help but release a short laugh at that.
That was true. She was in a bad situation and even being the brightest witch of
her age she couldn't find a single way to get out of it. Unfurtunetly. She felt
trapped here, which she very much was.
Once Narcissa had looked away again she quickly undressed fully before pulling
the undergarments on first, then turning to the dress that she couldn't deny
was beautiful. She pulled at the zipper with her fingers before stepping in and
gathering it up to put her arms through the straps. Turning her hand back she
reached for the zipper to pull it back up which thankfully wasn't too high.
With it fully on now she could feel how it seemed to wrap perfectly around her
body. Glancing down her eyebrows shot up. She had known from before that the
neckline dipped down but she hadn't expected it go so far down. It stopped
midway between her breasts revealing cleavage she honestly didn't even know she
had.
"If you could come over here once your done looking at yourself."
She jumped slightly and glanced up with a flush across her face. Taking in a
breath to try and compose herself she walked over to sit herself back in the
plush chair. "This should work." Her hair was pulled to the side but instead of
feeling it being magcially brushed she felt something wrap around her neck.
Hermione's eyes raised to the mirror to see that a ivory lace choker with
similar floral designs to the dress that was atleast three inches in width was
being fitted along her neck. Before completely covering it though she noticed a
scar along the right side, clean cut, in the shape of a C. A shiver passed
through her just before it was covered. She knew what it stood for. Crouch.
"There. That covers it and matches with the dress."
Looking back towards the mirror she felt a slight relief go through her that
the scar was no longer visible. It made her feel like a piece of property
rather than a witch. "Thank you." she murmured.
Narcissa just gave a small nod in response before giving a flick of her wand.
Hermione's hair untangled immediately and soon the curls were more smooth,
flowing gently down instead of in the normal haphazard manner. No individual
hair was sticking out at odd angles any longer. "There's gloss in the drawer to
your right."
Hermione reached to open the drawer, flipping through the various colors for a
moment until her fingers settled on a light red that was on the verge of being
pink. "Where is the," she took in a breath. "ceremony going to be held?"
"In another room here. It's not much bigger than this one. Only a few people
will be there, you're not being paraded around or anything. This... is actually
a bit hush hush within the Death Eaters. Me and Lucius only know because it's
held in our Manor, and keeping it on the down low will gain us more favor with
the Dark Lord."
"Hush hush within the Death Eaters?" Hermione questioned wondering what that
meant for her.
"The more trusted are called the Inner Circle. Within that there are only a few
of us that know of this at the moment. We're not unaware of the possibility of
spies Hermione, and there's no reason for it to get out that you're marrying a
Dea-former Death Eater until the marriage has actually taken place." Hermione
hung her head at that. It made sense.
Taking the top off the gloss she twirled it up slightly before applying it to
her lips. She made a small 'pop' sound when she was done having pressed her
lips together then putting the cap back on. "You don't know why though."
"No." A pause. "Stand up." Pushing herself from the seat Hermione stood up.
"It'll be a short walk but I won't have you sniffling on your way. Hold you
head up high, don't slouch, keep your back straight. Smile, they'll stare, but
ignore them. Don't show that you're unhappy, be strong."
Hermione blinked as she did as told before walking forward a few steps to give
Narcissa a demonstration. Stopping she turned to look at her. "Why are you
telling me this?" She didn't understand why the Malfoy would be giving her
advice right now.
For a moment she thought she saw Narcissa's composure fall but then there was
that steel expression again. "I never had a daughter. Right now, it feels like
I do. Are you ready?"
Hermione bit her lip before forcing a smile and nodded. "I'm ready."
***** Chapter 4 *****
Chapter Notes
     Curls up with a hot cup of cocoa.
Setting her bag below the long table that contained other Gryfindors, Ginny
slipped onto the bench. "Hey guys." Looking up from the table she frowned at
the sight of Ron and Harry with worry etched onto their faces. "What?"
"Ginny," Harry started, "have you seen Hermione since last night?"
She had started to grab for one of the lunch sandwiches but her fingers stopped
mid-grab. "Hermione? I haven't seen her since she stormed out of her dorm with
that letter from the Ministry and had to go to my own dorm to get sleep." At
the shared glance between Harry and Ron she quickly went to add, "I did try to
check on her in the morning but I woke up late. Once I got down to breakfast I
just figured she had finished early and gone off to the library to get in extra
studying before classes like usual. Did something happen?"
"We're not sure." Harry said. "It's just we saw her last night when she came
down into the commons and tried to leave through the door. Professor McGonagall
was there at the time and Hermione mentioned needing to go the Ministry and was
holding one of those letters saying it was a mistake and that she needed to
speak with someone at the Ministry."
"I tried to ask her who she got but she totally blew me off." Ron added. "She
was in a bloody rage."
"Have either of you spoken with McGonagall yet?" Ginny asked with a raised
brow, wondering what could possibly be going through their heads that they
hadn't thought to speak with Professor yet.
"No." Ron said slowly. "We-haven't had class with her yet." It was clearly a
lie. They hadn't even thought to go to her about Hermione's whereabouts. This
is exactly why they needed her around.
"Well then hurry up with the food and I'll go with you to her office and we'll
get this all figured out." Ginny said before diving into her food with renewed
vigor.
It didn't take very long for the group to finish as they were all starting to
worry even more with every other second that passed. After grabbing their bags
from under the table they hurried from the Great Hall, running down the castle
passages to the Transfiguration classroom. They burst in with the knowledge
that no classes were going on right now.
Professor McGonagall looked up from her desk, startled as Harry called ahead of
them just before they reached the desk, "Professor McGonagall!" They all
stopped together in front of the desk but Harry was the first to continue
speaking, "Have you seen Hermione? She used the floo in your room last night
didn't she?"
That was news to Ginny, but it would be the fastest way to get to the Ministry.
"No. She's still at the Ministry currently."
"Eh?" All of them looked rather surprised at this.
"She's still there?" Ginny asked in disbelief.
"Yes." McGonagall said while setting her writing quil aside. "I got a message
from Dumbledore earlier this morning saying how she was still there working out
whatever mistake they made and so that she wouldn't be in class today. The
Ministry estimated that the problem would be worked out by tomorrow. Now, if
that's all I need to get back to these assignments."
"That's all Professor." They exited the room Ron being the first to comment
further,
"She's probably yelling at them. Correcting them on their own law." His comment
sent a few laughs through them until he asked, "Who did she get paired with
anyway that made her go off to storm the Ministry singlehandedly?"
Ginny frowned at this question. "I don't actually know. I tried to look but she
took the letter away before I could see. She just said, 'You don't want to know
who,' and took off."
"Seems rather dramatic for Hermione." Ron muttered.
Ginny sighed as she looked over to her brother. "They are telling her who she
has to spend the rest of her life with basically. If you don't get a match you
like on your birthday you're going to be a lot more dramatic but just not get
anywhere."
Ron scowled at that and the group laughed as they walked down the hall.
                                     / / /
A hand was laid on her shoulder and then the familiar feel of apparation came
over Hermione. Blinking she found herself in a small room accompanied by
Narcissa who quickly went to stand over by Lucius-who was currently looking at
the door-near the left wall. With a quick glance she noticed Cuthota sitting in
a chair that was pressed to the right wall, a witch she didn't know-who was
beaming like a fool-that she figured must work for the Department of Marriages,
Births, and Deaths and was here to chain her to Barty was standing practically
standing right across from her. The moment her gaze settled on Barty though she
felt her smile slip from her face, the little facade crumbling within a
milisecond.
He was smiling at her. Not a sincere smile but a sick and twisted one that
showed nothing but triumph. Barty looked the same as when she last saw him, the
robes a slightly darker color but they certainly weren't formal. He wasn't
trying to make the illusion that this was an traditional marriage, much less
consenting. If nothing it seemed he was mocking her even as she felt his gaze
travel up and down her body stopping only when his eyes reached her face again.
She had to bite down on her tongue to stop herself from shouting obscenties at
him. Not because he was leering at her-which he very much wasn't. But because
he had a scowl set into his face, as if she disgusted him. She narrowed her own
eyes at him before glancing to the Official from the Ministry standing next to
him who didn't seem to notice the growing tension in the room, or simply didn't
care.
Taking a breath she forced her feet forward very much aware that the people
around her were to be the 'witnesses' of the marriage even as they kept her
there. To keep her from running away. There was no doubt in her mind that all
of them had a stupefy on the verge of their lips. The idea that the Ministry
Official could also be a Death Eater was fresh in her mind. After all that had
happened she honestly expected it.
She curled her hands into the side of her dress as she approached, just to stop
them from shaking. In fear or anger, she was unsure. Perhaps both. Probably
both. She stopped to stand across from Barty, on the other side of the
Official. Slowly she unwrapped her fingers from the dress to move infront of
her, clasping them together and hoping he hadn't seen the way they shook.
The Ministry Official began ceremoniously, "We are gathered here today,"
Gathered? Hermione thought, if this was a gathering she was a... bloody hell
she was already in a unbelievable situation. "to join this man," Murderer. He's
not a man, he's a murderer in a man's body. "and this woman," I'm bloody
seventeen! She wanted to shout. Still a teenager. A young lady if anything, but
not a woman. "in matrimony."
The Official turned to Barty, "Bartemius Crouch, do you take this woman to be
your wife," You mean his prisoner. "to live together in matrimony," Hell. With
firey flames and souls screaming in torment. "to love her," She had to hold
back a sound of disbelief. As if he ever could. As if he had ever loved in his
lifetime. "to honor her," How was he suppose to do that, precisely? "to comfort
her," A laugh was bubbling up in her chest. She was unsure if it was because of
the insanity of this situation or if she was about to go into an anxiety
attack. Hermione was barely able to hold it back. "and to keep her in sickness
and in health," She was certainly sick now. Sick to her stomach about what she
knew would be coming after this. Dreading it. "forsaking all others," As if.
The Death Eaters dirty work was his priority. Always would be. "for as long as
you both shall live?" For as long as she was useful was more like it. Whatever
use she had, she was still unsure about that herself.
"I do." Barty said, his voice was calm even as his gaze on Hermione made her
skin prickle in discomfort. It was practicallymurderous in itself.
The Ministry Official then turned towards her, "Hermione Granger, do you take
this man to be your husband," No I bloody do not. "to live together in
matrimony," Oh, just shut up. "to love him," That laugh was in her throat now
and she pressed her teeth together to keep it down. "to honor him," This person
really was trying to make her make a fool of herself. "to comfort him," Never
going to happen. "and to keep him in sickness and in health," Does that mean I
can poison him into sickness and just keep him like that? "forsaking all
others," Never. She was sure that single word was going to turn into a mantra
of hers soon enough.  "for as long as you both shall live?"
She ground her teeth together for a moment, feeling a wand being raised out of
sight to point at her. Certain atleast one was drawn on her. Waiting for the
words. Taking in a breath she breathed out, "I do." She hated the fact that the
words had past her lips, but in reality, she wasn't in control of this part of
her life. Even if she wanted to be. That couldn't happen while the law was
still in place.
Looking back to Barty again the Official simply stated, "Repeat after me,"
Barty didn't seem to even skip a beat as he started speaking, slow and
deliberate while looking directly into Hermione's eyes. She personally felt as
if his next words were a threat rather than a promise, "I, Bartemius Crouch,
take you Hermione Granger, to be my wife, to have and to hold to this day
forward," A shiver ran down her spine thick with fear. "for better, for worse,"
Her hands were shaking again and she dug her nails into the skin. "for richer,
for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish," She blinked to
hold back the tears trying to escape her eyes. "till death do us part." The
ring of finality in that last statement was almost enough for her to double
over in pain.
Back straight, she reminded herself and stood tall. Barely waiting for the
woman between them to ask Hermione to repeat after her she began, "I, Hermione
Granger, take you Bartemius Crouch, to be my husband, to have and to hold to
this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness
and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part."
She could see that the Ministry Official was smiling from the corner of her
eye, "By virtue of the authority vested in me under the laws of the Britain
Ministry of Magic, I now pronounce you husband and wife." A small pause until
the inevitable came. "You may kiss the bride."
Her heart practically leapt in her throat, she could feel it beating faster as
a hand moved forward, fingers wrapping around her wrist to pull her toward him.
She wanted to shrink back away from him, then there was the other hand on her
back keeping her from doing so, traveling right up her spine to stop at the
neck. Instinctively she tipped her head back as he leaned down to brush his
lips against hers. Even though it was brief she could still feel that light
preassure, the feel of his own lips lingering against hers. If she were to
swipe her tongue across she would probably taste him. Hermione kept her mouth
closed even as the feeling of apparation came over her.
The first thing she became aware of was that it was dark. She could barely make
out anything, it looked like a bunch of shadows, one moving directly infront of
her. Barty. His hands were no longer on her and she could tell he was moving
away because the warmth that had been resonating from where he stood moments
ago was fading. The cold in the room was creeping across her skin and she
stepped forward, hearing the wood beneath her feet make a rather distinct
creak. She froze for a moment, not entirely sure why, but as if she had
expected something to happen.
Glancing around she could only see various shades of black around her. The
darker and bulkier she figured were any furnishings. The smaller and slightly
lighter shade on top of them being whatever lay ontop of them. When she took in
a breath though the air didn't taste of dust like she expected it to. It didn't
seem abandoned, just that all the lights were out. She finally found her voice,
"Where are we?"
There was a soft click of a switch from across the room, a single wall light
flooded the room with light, every other second. It was flickering, the bulb
inside obviously close to burning out. A chill ran down her spine though as she
caught images of what was around her in time with the light flashes.
She had been right about the bigger furnishings. There was a long wooden table
pressed up against one wall, the same color it had been in shadow. Hermione
released a small gasp at what she saw on top of it. Skulls, white and gleaming
in the light, clearly having been polished were lined up along the back of the
table parallel with the wall. Most of them looked like those of small magical
creatures, others... she was unsure what they were from. Infront of those were
simply potion ingredients in jars, folded cloths, whatever suited that
particular ingredient better so that it was kept fresh.
The light flashed again and she jumped when she saw a dark shadow appear at the
corner of her eye that hadn't been there before. She was rewarded with a
chuckle. "What are you so afraid of Hermione Crouch?' Her blood froze over at
the last name used for her. His last name. Signifying that it was true. That
she was now married to him, legally even. A fucking lunatic with skulls in his
bedroom. Well, she couldn't say he was boring.
Swallowing down nothing but dry air as she glanced to him, quickly realizing
that it had just been his dark robe that she had seen so suddenly that had
startled her. Not bothering to answer his question she repeated her own, with a
slight twist. "Where am I?"
His smile curled up more, into a smirk. "My room, at our house. I suppose you
didn't bother to ask for the full details of the law back at the Ministry,
Hermione or you would have known wouldn't you? Being the brightest witch of
your generation, I would have thought you knew." She stared at him, bewildered.
What? It hadn't said anything about having to live together with the person,
it... No. It did. Not quite so clearly but under the requirements on number
three it mentioned spending time together. Such a thing could easily be
accomplished if they were just in the same vicinity, the same house. That and
it was expected for a newly wed couple-consenting or not-to move in together.
Realization crept across her face. "Have you figured it out then?"
She couldn't stop the bile from rising in her throat from this turn of events.
"It's only for seventy two hours." Three days a week. She... she could deal
with it.
"Actually, it's fourty eight, because of your schooling." Two days! Even
better! Wait...
"What else does it say in the fine print?"
Barty waved his hand towards the door as he spoke, though it was short and
clearly not a message for her to leave. "There's a copy on the kitchen table if
you really want to look at it later. You're busy right now, remember?" She
opened her mouth to snap that she wasn't but instead drew in a breath sharply.
Her head was shaking back and forth before she could even stop the action. This
couldn't be happening to her- "I have to say, Narcissa meant it when she said
she was going to dress you up. At the time it was more of a threat of course.
Rather surprised she went through with it..." He took some steps toward her
while he spoke and she just stared at him, heart beating loudly in her ears.
His hand raised, first touching at her waist before going up, his fingers
barely even touching the fabric, but she could still feel it since the dress
was skin tight along her upper body. "Not a bad selection." There was a brief
pause as his hand curled over her shoulder, brushing her hair from it. "This is
for?" he inquired while looking at the lace choker around her neck, a single
finger reaching out to brush against it.
Hermione shivered at his touch, a sort of shock rolling through her body at the
contact, and not the pleasant kind. "It-Narcissa gave it to me. To go... with
the... dress." she couldn't stop her voice from wavering when his finger moved
up along her neck, dipping under her chin to go to the other side.
His brow raised slightly at her. "Really?" His finger tucked under the choker
and for a moment he was silent looking at the lace on her neck as if studying
it. In the next moment there was a swift tearing sound and she could feel the
lace flutter away down from her neck to land on the floor somewhere. "Looks as
if it was hiding this." Feeling him trace the C on her neck she had no doubt in
her mind what 'this' was.
"I don't like it." Hermione said quickly, not wanting to get Narcissa in
trouble for making her semi-more comfortable, for a little while anyway.
"I take it you still don't like me either?"
Hermione bit her lip, not seeing the point in answering the question. Surely he
could see the answer in her eyes. Instead she asked her own, "Where's my wand?"
He smirked down at her. "You don't need it right now." His finger was
continuously stroking the letter on her neck, each time it just reminded her of
how powerless she had been before within the Ministry itself. When Barty leaned
forward she stilled even further fully expecting his lips to fall on hers.
Instead he leaned in past her face, moving her hair aside once again. She
jumped slightly when she felt his lips on her neck, on the scar he had made,
mimicking the shape with his tongue.
She could quite literally feel the fear pumping through her veins when his
teeth brushed over her flesh, nipping at it while his hand lowered to her legs
to grab at the dress, tugging the fabric up all at once, bunching it around her
waist. Her body was bent very slightly backward and then his arm was under her
thighs and lifting her up only to let go a few seconds later after having moved
forward.
Hermione hit the bed with a soft thump, feeling her heart beat increase,
echoing loudly in her ears as she stared up at him. He pushed the dark robe off
himself quickly, leaving a pair of trousers and a loose shirt in it's place.
His hands went down to undo the trousers. She started moving back, to get away.
That's when he leaned over, hands moving forward, fast like a snake to grip
both her wrists, raising them above her head until they bumped against the
headboard. Pulling her hands together just a single one was used to wrap around
hers, the other one missing from her skin.
She panicked the moment she heard a rattle of chains. Bucking her hips up she
tried to throw him off but he just pressed himself against her still clothed
body, she squirmed beneath him, her movements getting restricted even further
as he moved his body to counteract her own.
There was a soft clang above her, it echoed in her ears, the scream that had
been building up in her throat was let loose in response. The metal was
immediately digging into her left wrist and another clasped around her right,
keeping them above and out of the way. Keeping her from being able to push him
away, hit him, anything. She could only hope that someone had heard her, was
hearing her desperate cry for help.
He grinned down at her, tongue flicking out to the side in his usual deranged
manner. "Scream all you want, Hermione. No one is going to hear you. We're
miles away from any city, town, campsite, whatever your mind can think up. Just
remember that." She could feel his hand had ventured down again, hear the
rustling of his pants as he pushed them down. Not being able to see it
comforted her slightly but then his hands were on her thighs, keeping her
pinned down and the bucking of her hips to a minimum.
"No, no, no." She shook her head from side to side, feeling his fingers graze
her inner thigh before pulling her panties-to the side. He wasn't even going to
take them off her body? A prodding at her pussy confirmed her suspicions a
moment later. Her eyes were starting to become hot and wet, burning. "Get off
me."
Leaning forward he bent his head down to be parallel with hers. "Not yet." he
growled directly into her ear. Her heart rate sped up as she felt his breath
redirecting to brush along her neck. The left side suddenly felt warm, wet. He
was licking her neck then pulling the skin lightly into his mouth before
sucking softly. The only thing she knew was that his actions there were sure to
leave a hickey. A scar and a hickey on her neck. That... she would rather not
think about it.
She wasn't given much of a chance as his hips thrust forward and she felt him
invading her, felt something inside her tear up so suddenly that she couldn't
help but scream. Pain was washing through her body, wave after wave of it. Him
pounding into her at the same time wasn't helping one bit. The metal along her
wrists was cutting into the flesh. Tears streaked down her face as she yelled
in pain.
The skin of her neck was pinched between a pair of teeth and she screamed
again, thrashing her arms above her. Just hoping the chains would come loose,
but they held strong. This wasn't how this was suppose to happen! This wasn't
suppose to happen at all! She kept shouting the words in her head but each
spark of pain in her center reminded her that it was happening.
When she felt him release within her, heard the groan crystal clear due to his
mouth being right below her ear, she couldn't deny that fact anymore. It was
happening. It had happened. Feeling him pull from within her she whimpered as
another spark of pain went through her, admittedlyduller than the rest.
After a second of just laying there she tugged at the chains binding her wrists
to the head of the bed, trying to get him to undo them. Barty made no such
movements towards her. He had simply retrieved his trousers and robe from the
ground and then put them back on before turning to look at her. She tugged at
them again now that his gaze was on her.
"I don't think so."
His words cut deep into her, not as much as he had previously,personally. Her
throat was raw from her screaming but she parted her lips to force a sound out.
Pausing for a moment, wetting her lips, she tried again. "Please undo them."
Her words were met with laughter. "Please? You think that word will get you
anywhere here? That it holds any weight? At all?" He walked over to stand at
the side of the bed. "I'm going to make this very clear to you Hermione, you're
here because of the Ministry. Because of the new law and the means as to which
they decided to set people up together. If you try and file a complaint of
abuse it'll never reach a non-Death Eater within in the Ministry. You are stuck
with me. You're mine to do with as I please every weekend. Got that?"
For a moment she was silent, but she wouldn't let his threats get to her.
Hermione raised her head at an angle, meeting his gaze. "This is all a fraud. A
mistake. You and I know it. You and your fellow Death Eaters messed with the
ritual and once the Ministry realizes it's error I'll be out of this so-called
marriage." It hurt to speak but she managed it.
Barty's eyes narrowed and he leaned down toward her, his face hovering over
hers, forcing her to settle back into the comforter. "Is that what you think?"
His voice was suddenly much lower than before, clearly made to be threatening.
"Should I let you in on a little secret?" Barely a second passed before he went
on, not waiting for her to answer. "I didn't do anything to the ritual. Neither
did any of the Death Eaters. You were to be mine since the day you were born."
Hermione took in a sharp breath. "What?"
His expression quickly changed from dead serious to seriously amused. "Do you
always believe everything you hear?" He was chuckling now as he gazed down at
her.
She felt anger flood through her. "You... how could you even... why would you
say something like that?" She tugged on her chains again, wishing she could
move her arms, hit him after saying such things.
"Your expression, it's rather funny from where I stand." he sneered down at
her.
Hermione glared at him. "You lied. Just to amuse yourself?"
"Perhaps." She continued to glare at him, not about to fall for it again.
"Maybe I'm lying, maybe I'm not. That's for you to decide, isn't it?" He turned
from her then, starting for the door.
"Where are you going? Undo this!" Hermione snapped after him while tugging at
her wrists once again, the chains rattling loudly in her ears.
"I have work to attend to. You on the other hand, do not." He smiled at her
then, the only word she could think of to describe it was deceptive. "Get some
sleep, honey." With that he closed the door behind him as he left the room.
For a moment Hermione was stunned into silence from his last word. Honey? She
didn't think she would ever be able to associate that word with something sweet
again for as long as she lived. Then the realization that he had just left her
here, chained to his bed, hit her hard. It sent her heart racing, frantically
beating away at her chest feeling rather trapped. When was he going to be back
to undo them? How long would he be gone for? How long would she have to stay
like this? Where the bloody hell had he stuck her wand? When-what-
"Bartemius Nyle Crouch Junior! You get in here right now and take these chains
off me!" she shouted as her rage overcame her. She couldn't believe him. No,
she could. This man was fucking insane. The fact that he would do something
like this shouldn't surprise her. The fact that he had left the bottom of her
dress bunched up around her waist shouldn't either. Now that she thought about
it, it was rather cold in this room, and he hadn't responded to her at all.
Hermione huffed as she sank back into the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Had
he already left? Before or after she yelled? She considered it for a moment.
"Hey! Mental patient!" Waiting for a few seconds and not hearing anything in
response she ruled out him being here any longer.
With a whimper she squirmed up the bed, each movement making the chains dig
into her wrists, another whimper crawling up her throat. By the time she had
succesfully pulled the blanket loose with her feet and managed to get semi-
underneath it she felt as if she had sawed her hands off. Of course the dull
pain reminded her that they were still there.
She turned her head to the side while lying on her back as she couldn't lay
anyother way due to where both her hands were. Tears were soon running hot down
her face again as she just thought over the past events. Eventually she drifted
into an uneasy sleep.
***** Chapter 5 *****
Chapter Notes
     I have just discovered something. I have absolutely no control over
     the lengths of these chapters. Therefore they will be whatever length
     they want to be.
Even in the depths of sleep she heard a sudden and sharp crack. Glass
shattering to fall onto the wood floor boards.
With a gasp she sat up, fear already pounding anew through her veins at the
sound. It took her a few seconds later to realize that the door had slammed
after it. Her brow crinkled and she opened her mouth to call out but then
stopped herself. If Barty was breaking things it definitely wouldn't be best to
be around him. Besides that, she would rather he left her alone. She wished she
would never have to see him again but knew that was very unlikely to happen.
Her dress was still bunched up around her waist, the blanket though had served
to cover her below that. She didn't feel any more pain, which she was thankful
for. Reaching up to pull strands of hair out of her face she froze for a
moment. Glancing down she could faintly see a darker tint to her skin where the
chains had been around her wrists.
They weren't there anymore. He had just left the room... in a rage if the
broken bulb scattered in pieces on the floor was any judge. But, he had removed
the chains. Relief flowed through her at this. Her lips tugging upward into a
small smile. Not only because her wrists weren't in constant pain anymore-
though she found when she moved them that a dull ache started where the clasp
had rested. It was because it meant she wasn't completely defenseless like
before. Without being chained down any longer she could try to get out of here.
Hermione bit at her lip. Where was she to go though? No. That wasn't her top
priority yet. She had to find her wand. Figure out where he would put it.
Considering he had left her in here for however long she was able to eliminate
the possibility of it being in this room, his room.
Leaning over she pulled the covers off her before tugging her dress down to
gather at her feet again. Sitting up she had to rest for a moment as her
stomach did somersaults on her before growling rather loudly. She clentched her
teeth as she felt a fresh wave of exhaustion hit her.
It seemed a bit much. Even if she hadn't eaten much for today besides a cookie.
Which reminded her, bakery goods did not fix problems. Well, except hunger.
Though she would need more than a couple cookies to stop her stomach from
cramping up on her.
Why the hell was she thinking about food at a time like this? She needed to get
out, she needed to-
Crash.
Her head whipped around to stare at the door that was now wide open with Barty
filling in the doorway as he glared at her. There was a strange glint in his
eyes that sent her heart sky rocketing to catch into her throat, making it hard
to speak.
"If you're quite done doing whatever it is you think you're doing in here. Or
thinking about for that matter. Get out of my room. Now." At his words she
practically jumped off the bed, pressing her palms down on the mattress as an
extra boost. She regretted that course of action instantly as she flinched and
hissed at the same time. A shot of pain had just gone through each of her
wrists. She raised her arms up rubbing lightly at her left wrist to try and
dull the pain but it just sent more smaller shocks under her skin. "Hurry it
up, Hermione. I don't have all day." A shiver went down her spine. From his
tone of voice she must be getting on his last nerve.
With a quick nod of her head she started for the door until her gaze landed on
the floor and the shredded lace choker. Dropping to her knees she picked up the
two tatters and started to get up once again to hurry out of the room. A hand
seemed to reach out from nowhere but she knew it could only be the one other
person in the room, the house. His fingers wrapped around her wrist and she
whimpered rather loudly from her skin there being so raw and more sensitive now
because of those damn chains he had had on her previously. If she ever got the
chance to curse him for that-
She was tugged forward then, felt the hand let go of her wrist. Her eyes
widened a moment later as she registered that the floor was speeding up at her.
She hit it. Hard.
Hermione groaned in pain from the hallway carpet, turning her head slightly she
could see Barty standing in the doorway again, sneering down at her. "Stay out
and go to school like a good little girl." His gaze landed on the remains of
the choker in her hand and he raised his wand. She dropped it immedietly
suddenly knowing what he was about to do. Fire shot from the tip of his wand,
quickly turning the choker into a small pile of ash.
The door slammed shut a moment later.
For a few seconds she found herself just staring at the door. What the bloody
hell could she have possibly done to make him so mad at her? Did he like seeing
the scar he made on her that much? Or was it something else? If he way anyone
else she might try asking. But she doubted he would tell her if she did.
The last time she had seen him he mentioned having to 'work'. She could only
guess that whatever it was had gone badly or not as exactly planned for him to
be in such a foul mood. But then again, it could have just been her. It's not
like she suddenly knew him or anything, and when she thought more about it, it
probably just had to do with his personality. Which just meant she was stuck
with a person that was going to be rude to her all the time and throw her
around like a damned rag doll.
She tried to huff with indignation but ended up whimpering instead. Her wrists
hurts terribly. She wondered for a moment if they were broken but as she
finally looked down at them and saw them in actual light she gasped. The skin
was red were the chains had been against them, looking as if they had been
rubbed raw. There was dried blood smudged along her wrists and she was sure it
had dried on the metal as well.
Biting at her lip to surpress the cry building in her chest she slowly moved
her legs beneath her to push up with them so she could stand. Not particularly
wanting to use her hands for anything right now. With a glance at the door to
Barty's room-simply to know which one to avoid-she started down the hall.
Finding a door to her left she gingerly tried to open it to find it locked.
Letting go and flexing her hand to try and get rid of the brief pain that had
sparked from her wrist from twisting the knob she continued down the hall,
turning right into a longer hall. The next two doors she came to were locked as
well and she hissed softly in pain each time she went to open them.
She stopped hesitantly infront of the third door just before the hall seemed to
open up into the main living space. The other doors had been dark wood colored,
but this one was cherry oak, a white trim on the edges. If anything it seemed
more feminine, inviting even. Taking in a breath she readied herself to see
more skulls as she reached for the door, turning the knob successfully this
time. Letting out a sigh of relief at finding one that worked she pushed it
open and stepped over the threshold.
Her eyes widened as she took in the room. A large canopy poster bed was set
against the wall opposite of the door, directly in the middle. The wood of the
bed was also cherry oak like the door, if she were to do a quick glance around
the room it actually seemed to be a recurring theme. But she wasn't. Hermione
was still staring at the bed with the white canopy, the top sheet with thread
that looked as if it could have been made from gold, a fluffy white blanket
that was poking out from beneath that, the ruby red pillows pressed to the
headboard. It pretty much shouted, Gryfindor at her. Next to the bed was a
small nightstand with just a candle wicker sitting on it. There was a small
chandelier set between the door and bed, the candles on it had flickered to
life the moment she stepped into the room.
Finally looking away from the bed she could see a dresser pressed to the right
wall, a door was set into it as well further back along the wall. A small
vanity was against the left wall along with a medium-sized bookshelf that
currently sat empty. On top of the vanity was a silver box with a letter.
It only took her a moment to decide to go over and open it. She bit her lip and
tried to ignore the pain in her wrists as she tore it open to then pull out a
thin piece of parchment.
Hermione Crouch,
I hope you're well when you find this. Barty said you were sleeping when I came
by later in the evening. Not sure if I believe him or not. I think it would be
best if you keep what I discussed with you to yourself. If you need someone to
talk to about anything please contact me. I hope you don't mind but I've made
some adjustments to your room to make you more comfortable here. Trust me when
I say you wouldn't have liked the earlier design. Don't think Barty likes my
version but it's your room so you should get more say in it.
I've left you some wedding favors. It's not much but it should help with your
problem. You'll find a pair of your school robes in the drawer. Considering
that I wasn't able to see you I would suggest taking a shower before you return
to Hogwarts, I've left a few things in the bathroom attached to your room.
There's also a note from the Ministry in the drawer with the school robes. I
found it in the kitchen and thought you should be able to find it more easily
there.
Take care, Narcissa Malfoy
For a moment she just stood there with the letter in her hands but then she
smiled. Looking around though she found no quil or bottle of ink to write back.
She would have to get some of these things herself it would seem. Leaving the
box for now she set the letter down before moving over to the other door and
opening it to peak inside.
With just a glance she knew that Narcissa had redesigned this as well. She
really would have to thank her later for this. It did make the house more
inviting for her, and would make it easier for her on the weekends. She
supposed she could just hole up in here for most of it.
The sink was very simple, but the fountain was obviously painted with gold.
There was a lion's head where the water came from, with it's maw currently
closed. The hot and cold handles had been shaped into paws at the end. The tile
was white, framed by thin red lines. It was rather small, the shower being a
modern rectangle sort. Not that she minded. Hot water sounded good to her right
now. Reaching back she slowly pulled the zipper down before pushing the straps
off her shoulders and then stepping from the dress. She set it down ontop of a
hamper in the corner. Taking off her undergarments next and wincing at the
sight, small drops of dried blood along her inner thigh. It was less than she
had expected, but the fact that she had expected to see blood unnerved her.
She stuck them in the hamper before getting into the shower. Being careful with
her wrists as she washed up, making sure to get rid of the blood traces on both
her thighs and wrists even though it stung the latter. She stepped out of the
water soon enough, grabbing a red towel from the wall Hermione moved to her own
room only to freeze a second later.
Barty was passing by her open door. Why the hell had she left it open? How
could she forget to close it? His gaze simply flickered toward her and he
scowled just before she managed to cover herself with the towel, then he was
gone from the hall. Seconds later she could hear a blaze of flames signaling
that he had left.
She let go of the breath she had been holding and started to dry herself off.
The smile that had begun to take place had crumbled again. Just the way he had
looked at her even in the nude with distaste made her scowl. The Ministry
certainly hadn't lived up to any of it's standards. Attracted to eachother her
ass. Besides that, she found it rather insulting. She may not be the prettiest
girl-or woman as the Ministry would have it-but she certainly wasn't ugly.
There was also the fact that there wasn't a single attractive quality in the
guy. He looked like a damn mad man and was one. Originally put in Azkaban for
torturing the Longbottoms, she was sure he had killed as well.
Walking over to the dresser she pushed the thoughts aside. Upon opening it she
quickly spotted the note left by the Ministry and picked it up, to read it over
multiple times not sure if she was reading it right or not.
Dear Hermione Jean Crouch,
It has come to our attention that because of your particular marriage it may
cause you trouble. Specifically, in school. Most people are still under the
impression that your husband was a Death Eater, and, in fact, think he still is
one. Because of this we would like to offer you a way to avoid being a new
headline in the Daily Prophet or anyother newspaper for that matter, and avoid
making your life at school harder.
What we are proposing is very simple. For your remainder of years at Hogwarts
your records will still state that your last name is Granger, while all our own
files, medical, and Gringotts bank will show you as Crouch.
Please take your time in deciding whether to accept or decline our offer. We
wish you the best in your new marriage. If any trouble comes up with the
Prophet or otherwise simply contact us at once.
Sincerely, Supervisor Cuthota of the Department of Marriages, Births, and
Deaths
She found herself smiling after having read it over five times. It sent a wave
of relief through her that she could still go by Granger for two more years,
atleast at school. She didn't like being called Crouch and she most definetly
didn't care to be featured on the Daily Prophet or have any news reporter
trying to poke into her private life. Quickly setting in ontop of the drawer
she reached inside to grab her school robes and certaintly less fanciful
underclothes.
Hermione changed quickly, already going over a response to the Ministry in her
mind. Before she left the room in search of parchment and a quil she walked
back to the vanity to open the silver box Narcissa had left for her.
Her smile only grew when she looked at the contents inside. There were more of
those chokers within, both lace, leather, and the usual cloth. Reaching in she
picked up one of the more modern looking ones, a simple red that turned darker
on the sketches of vines on the fabric.
Facing the mirror she fit it along her neck and started closing each individual
clasp. Turning the choker along her neck until she could see the front where
the designs began. She touched the part that hid the mark happy she couldn't
see it anymore. Immensely more happy that Barty wasn't currently here or else
he might turn this one to ash as well.
Closing the box she tucked it under her arm before heading out the door
wondering what time it was and how many classes she had missed today due to the
marriage. The light behind her was snuffed out when she walked over the
threshold. Neat.
Stepping from the hall she found herself in a living room-of sorts. The only
light came from a big window with a bench below it on the far wall leaving
light gray streaks across the wood floor boards. Gray? It had been around the
afternoon changing to evening last time she checked. Was it really that late?
When her eyes landed on a small old fashioned curved wood clock they widened.
There was a small engraving of am at the bottom, that looked as if it could
move. Which meant there was another engraved piece in the clock that said pm.
Which would suggest... morning. The next day. Her gaze flickered over to the
time, six o'clock. Breakfast still didn't start for a little over an hour then.
That should give her enough time to write out her responses and get them to the
Owlery but there was also the issue of her wand. Barty hadn't told her where it
was, simply that she didn't need it back in his bedroom. It had to be in the
house somewhere...
She glanced over the room again, taking notice of a quil and a stack of
parchment on a small desk pressed into a corner of the room. There was an old
couch with pieces of the thread torn, a coffee table sitting just infront of it
with glass stains on the surface, a fireplace with a metal frame, an antique
looking fan was above all of this. Snakes curling from it's center only for
four to decend partly with the mouths open, obviously where the light would
come from it it were to be turned on. However one did that.
Her wand wasn't in sight though and she felt a flutter of panic run through
her. She moved over to the table where the clock sat and started pulling open
the drawers, looking in quickly only to have her hope dashed with every single
one of the four. Opening the bottom cabinet she found books covered in dust,
the titles along the edge so faded to the point she couldn't make out the
words. No wand though. She shut it angrily cursing at herself when her wrists
ached in response.
Getting up she turned to look around the room again. Where else could he have-
She dashed for the desk, opening the single long drawer at the bottom. Biting
at her lip a moment later when she found it only held letters from the Ministry
within as well as a deed to the house. Shutting it she turned slowly. There had
to be something she wasn't seeing, something she had missed.
A sudden idea went through her mind. She had seen one used for the purpose of
hiding things before in a muggle television show. How could she forget?
Hermione walked over to the bench set beneath the window that was tucked into
an alcove and bent down to knock on the side of it.
It echoed back at her. Hollow.
Setting the silver box on the ground she crouched down, hooking her fingers
around the edge of the cushion to push up. Luckily it was light and didn't
strain her wrists too much. Once it was open she glanced in, blinking in shock
to find her wand within on the bottom. There was also a small folded piece of
parchment and a small black box beside that. Reaching in she grabbed the
parchment first, it was folded three times. She flipped open the first fold to
see a handwriting she wasn't familiar with.
I figured you would find this sooner or later.
Barty. He had left this here then. Gritting her teeth as anger went through her
at this stupid game in which he had obviously played with her she opened the
next part.
In the box you will find a pair of earrings you are to put on.
She paused before reaching out with her other hand to grab the small box and
open it expecting something to jump out at her. Instead she found small silver
earrings with a single small black onyx on each. Glancing back to the paper she
flipped the last part open.
Think of it like a timed portkey. At five o'clock in the morning of every
Saturday it will take you here. It only goes the one direction. If you are ever
late I will find you, Hermione.
The last part was clearly a threat. Though if she had them on at all times she
doubted she could ever be late. So the simple way to not ever let that happen
would be to keep them on.
With a sigh she ripped the note to shreds before getting her wand out and
pushing the cushion back down. Setting both the wand and box ontop of it she
grabbed the earrings from within to put them on before closing the small black
box and putting it in a pocket. She just needed to deal with this until the law
was revoked. Picking up her wand she murmured, "Episkey." while pointing it at
each wrist in turn. Slipping it into the wand pocket she rubbed at her wrists
with relief. It felt good to not have them hurting anymore, not to see the skin
red now that it was back to it's orginal color and not scarred.
Hermione walked over to the desk, grabbing a piece of parchment to move to the
center of the desk and picking up the quil she began writing each letter in
turn.
Narcissa Malfoy,
I'm sorry about having been asleep when you came around. I was rather tired
after all that has happened in the past twenty four hours. So I can assure you
that Barty wasn't lying about me sleeping. Though I did notice he was in a foul
mood this morning, still not sure if that's his usual mood or not. If he ends
up at your manor today in an even more terrible mood I'll have to apologize in
advance as I'm pretty sure it's my fault.
Thank you for the lovely decor of the room, and the necklaces.
Later, Hermione Granger
She grabbed another piece of parchment, pushing the one up the desk as she
started to write the last one.
To Supervisor Cuthota of the Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths,
After taking the time to consider your offer I will accept.
Sincerely, Hermione Crouch
With that done she grabbed both the letters and walked over to the fireplace,
briefly pausing until she located the pouch of floo powder. Taking some in an
unoccupied hand she stepped into the rather large fireplace and turned to face
the living room. Taking in a breath she shouted, "Gryfindor Commons!"
She closed her eyes this time as the flames rose up to surround her, only
opening them when the feeling of spinning round and round stopped. Ducking down
she walked from the fire place, shaking her shoes off before stepping onto the
carpet. She went up the stairs to the girls dorms first to drop off the silver
box and grab two envelopes to put each letter in along with her book bag before
heading back down. Pulling open the door she could hear the soft snoring of the
Fat Lady and was careful not to wake her up as she slipped from the room.
Walking to the Owlery Hermione could feel her mind wandering.
It kept coming back to her now that she wasn't thinking about anything else.
His words. His joke. As cruel as it had been. The possibility was making her
mind spin. It's not like she had a video recording of the occurence. I didn't
do anything to the ritual. Neither did any of the Death Eaters. The Wizarding
world didn't have muggle technology for security means, obviously they had
their own. She had to wonder how good it was though. There were of course Death
Eaters hidden in the Ministry. With powerful positions. It would be easy for
them to go in and mess it up even with more security. But, then, maybe... not.
She shook her head, hard. It didn't matter how they got through. It was the
simple fact that they had.
Quickening her pace up the steps to the top of the Owlery it hissed into her
mind again. You were to be mine since the day you were born. A shiver passed
down her spine just at the mere idea that it could be true. Fate was cruel if
it was. To bind her to that murderous lunatic.
Don't think about it. He's just trying to get to you, she told herself. Playing
little games with your mind. He said it was a joke. Cruel and evil. The typical
Death Eater stereotype that they all played true too.
She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. Picturing a door that she
closed and locked mentally. It would be best not to ever think about it again.
In fact, the next time she sees Barty, in a foul or worse mood she might as
well actually give him a reason to be mad at her. She would rather not try and
figure out if it was something she did or something else entirely.
Drawing in a breath after having climbed all those steps she walked into the
Owlery, glancing around to look for an owl that could send the message. It went
through her mind that she should get her own owl.
Her gaze went first to the general school owl coops, finding them empty she
slowly turned towards the students area. It was important she got both the
letters out. Mainly the one concerning the Ministry, but also since she had to
sign them with her actual last name. Something she would rather no one else
see. Her eyes landed on a white and dark grey feathered owl. "Hedwig." she
called to Harry's owl knowing he wouldn't mind if she borrowed him. Besides,
Ron's owl was a bit... not very competent. What with getting lost and smashing
into windows.
When the owl flew over to land on one of the perches nearby and hooted at her
she smiled. "I need you to take this letter to the Ministry of Magic, in the
Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths at Cuthota's office." She fixed it
to the owl's left leg before showing Hedwig the other letter after the owl
hooted once again. "This letter goes to Narcissa Malfoy. Be careful getting
there." Once she fixed the letter to the right leg Hedwig jumped from her perch
to fly out one of the openings.
Hermione watched until she couldn't see the speck of white in the sky anymore.
Noticing that it was lighting up she turned for the door pausing to reach up
and make sure the choker was firmly in place before making her way down the
stairs. The last thing she needed was her scar showing. Even if it looked more
reminiscent to a crescent rather than the beginning of her last name.
Once she hit the last step she jogged back to the castle to escape the cool
crisp morning air. Inside the castle now she walked swiftly down the halls
until she came near the open doors of the Great Hall. She practically slammed
to a halt, already hearing chatter from inside the room. Taking a moment to
make sure she was presentable and hadn't missed anything before she resumed her
walking and went into the large room. Her mind flashed back to fourth year as
she walked, her book bag hanging loosely from her shoulder.
The dark sky. Thunder sounding, echoing against the smooth stone. Lightning
flashing from outside. The sudden downpour to be put out from a flick of a wand
at the front of the Great Hall.
She bit lightly at her lip to drive her mind from the past. To focus on the
now. How to get out of this situation. She just had to put her mind to it.
Swinging a leg over the bench she sat herself down next to her friends. "Good
morning." she said before reaching forward for a glass of juice as her stomach
growled at her, insistent on being fed first before she got into a meaningful
conversation.
The people around her quickly responded with a, "Hi Hermione," or "Morning."
"I told you she was coming back today." Ginny started saying while Hermione
downed the glass in one gulp earning stares from her friends and a few of the
other Gryfindors. Even Ginny stopped to just gaze at her for a moment.
"What?" she questioned, glancing at them. "I've been busy these last few nights
and day. I'm hungry." Her stomach gave another little growl to confirm this
fact. Picking up a piece of toast and spreading butter ontop of it she went
back to listening to her friends since her own movements clearly said to leave
her alone with any questions they had until she was done eating.
"Lavender said that when they all got up there was this silver box on
Hermione's bed and that her book bag was missing. Plus her stack of envelopes
went down a bit."
"But all the school owls are out because of this law and every seventh year is
scrambling to get dates set for marriages and all that." Ron said, for once
without food stuffed into his mouth. He glanced towards her after looking to
Ginny and clearly ignored Hermione's pointed look as he asked, "How could you
send a letter by owl in the current situation?"
She took her time in chewing just to annoy him before finally swallowing the
scrambled egg down along with some of the toast. "I borrowed Hedwig." With that
answered she took another bite of the mini egg sandwhich she had made.
"Did you ask Harry?"
Hermione just glanced towards Harry in response. "I don't mind." he said and
she shot a grin at Ron surpressing the urge to stick her tongue out at him in
triumpth.
"Well you certainly seem in a better mood then when everyone saw you last."
Ginny remarked quite obviously thinking about when she stormed out of the girls
dorm saying how she was going to the Ministry.
Everything about that trip had been unexpected. She nodded her head before
picking up her refilled glass and taking a smaller amount than before. "I am."
In spite of being thrown to the ground in the morning and yelled at for some
inexplicable reason the rest of it had been rather nice, she added silently.
The fact that her teachers wouldn't be calling her by that thing was most
certainly a perk.
"So it all worked out at the Ministry? You got the problem all sorted out?"
"Yup." She replied while working on making another egg sandwhich. "All sorted."
That is in the aspect of her being married to a lunatic being done and over
with.
"There really was an error in the match?" Ginny was staring at her with wide
eyes.
Hermione took a moment to slather another piece of bread with butter before
sticking it ontop of the eggs to complete her creation. An actual error in the
match was apparently debatable but, "I've taken care of it." That was the gist
anyway. Seeing her friend still looking at her with disbelief though she
elaborated, in the false sense, "There was an error with the letter, not the
match. They sent me the wrong one, just under my name."
"So how did you know it was an error then?" Ron asked.
She scowled at Ron realizing if they started asking indepth questions she would
have to start making more things up. "By looking at the match, Ronald." To take
the bite out of her words she added, "We never got along before and I already
knew I wasn't attracted to him. So I just knew. A simple procedure of deduction
considering the things this ritual is suppose to check for."
"Right." Ginny said before Ron could question Hermione once again. "It's
suppose to check things like that. It said so in the Daily Prophet days ago.
Things like compatible personalities, physical attraction, the whole shebang.
Don't you read the Prophet Ron?"
"Not since it was trying to convince everyone that Harry and Dumbledore were
part of a conspiracy last year."
Ginny looked as if she had nothing to say to that and Hermione felt her gaze
land on her again. "That's a nice choker."
At the comment she almost froze. She had been trying to forget about it. Well,
not specifically the choker, rather what it lay ontop of. Her fingers gave a
little twitch and she had to surpress the urge to raise a hand and touch the
right side of her neck where the scar was. "Thanks." she said somehow managing
to keep her voice chipper while maintaining a smile.
"Where did you get it?"
She opened her mouth, on the verge of saying Narcissa but quickly corrected
herself, "My mom. She sent a whole bunch of them in that silver box. Found them
at a little store in England." The lie fell easily from her lips. It's not like
they would believe her if she said Draco's mother had given them to her. Really
it would just end up with more questions she rather not answer anyways. Which
would then just lead to her having to tell them she was a Crouch now and she
didn't want to remember that. She didn't want to think about her marriage, she
especially didn't want to think of what happened last night. Even without the
marks on her wrists, without the pain, she could still remember the feel of
metal locked around them.
"That where the earrings came from to?'
"Yes." Hermione said swallowing down the remaining juice in the glass along
with the bile that had begun to fill her throat. The fact that Barty had given
them to her was most certainly not something anyone needed to know about, much
less concern themselves with. Especially since they were given as another pair
of chains. "So, how are your brothers taking this?" she asked to steer the
conversation away from herself.
"They got their letters at night on the day they were sent out, like you did.
Though neither of them went storming off to the Ministry." Ron said before
Ginny could speak.
Giving her brother a quick glance Ginny turned back to Hermione. "We're
actually going to my house after classes today where George and Fred are going
to tell us who they got and hopefully what date they'll be getting married."
There was a dreamful sigh from Ginny. "It'll be beautiful. I can't wait till we
get to go to your marriage as well." She cringed inside. Right, that marriage
that had lasted as long as it took to say the words before she was manacled to
the bed and taken in a very painful way. Barty evidently did not know of the
word gentle, or what it meant for that matter. Hermione stuffed a grape in her
mouth just as Ginny asked, "Who did you say you got?"
For a moment she just blinked, a single word going through her mind. Fuck.
Fuck. Fuck! She hadn't even thought to come up with an alibi. "Guess." she said
quickly opting to make a small game out of the matter until she could come up
with someone.
"Uh, Lee?"
A moment of thinking about it and Hermione shook her head as she dumped some
grapes from the bowl onto her plate. "No."
"Towler?"
"Who?" Hermione didn't even recognize the name.
"I'll take that as a no. Pucey?"
She took a second to just stare at Ginny. "No. Next." waving her hand for her
friend to continue guessing and start naming people she actually knew.
"One of my brothers?"
"Didn't they tell you who they were marrying?" Hermione asked before throwing a
grape into her mouth and savoring the sweet taste. She wondered briefly for a
moment what sort of food would be in the house she shared with Barty. If there
was any at all. Burned bread, probably.
"They want it to be a surprise." Ron informed her just before Ginny fired off
her next guess.
"Roger?"
"No."
"Okay, I give up. Just tell us already."
Her mind spun and she threw out the first name that came to mind, "Blaise."
***** Chapter 6 *****
There was just a single second of silence, then Ron-who had been drinking
pumpkin juice at the time she announced her fake husband-spewed liquid from his
mouth to gape at her. His mouth worked, but unsurprisngly no sound could be
made out as he choked slightly on the remnants of juice within.
Thankfully Ginny got out his question for him. "What?" Hermione bit at her lip
for a moment, wondering if she should have thought this over more, not that her
friends had given her much time in the first place.
"Is there a problem?" she asked, keeping any sort of panic from her voice. Had
he already announced his marriage to his friends-which would evidently not be
to her-and it had gotten around school? If that was the case then she was
screwed. They would know she was lying, they would start asking questions, and-
"Well, no. I mean, it's just I wouldn't have expected it." Ginny went quite for
a moment. "You, him, seem so different." Pause. "You're attracted to him? I'm
not saying he's not attractive," Ginny tacked on quickly, raising her hands
slightly as if in defense. "Just, you know. Err, he's a Slytherin and one would
think another Gryfindor would suit you best. Admittedly he's not as bad as
Malfoy." Putting her hands back down she was quite for a long moment. "Okay, I
don't actually have anything against him."
"The Slytherin thing should be enough to be against it." Ron snapped,
apparently having gained his ability to speak again. Hermione had started to
relax at Ginny's reaction but frowned as Ron continued. "Most of them turned
into Dark Wizards during the first war. What makes you think this time will be
any different?"
"Malfoy took the Dark Mark." Harry added to which Hermione spun on him as she
felt rage run through her.
"You still don't know that." she snapped. "You're blinded by your hate because
of the bullying done to you-"
"I would think that's credible enough-" Ron got in.
"-for years and your general dislike of him. And don't add kindle to the fire
Ronald! I already told you countless times that I don't know what I saw back at
the alley, so enough of this," Grabbing her bookbag she stood up from the
table. "I will see the two of you in class. Hopefully by then you've cleared
your minds and have gained the ability to think rationally without the usage of
stereotypes." With that she spun around on her heel and walked from the
Gryfindor table and out of the Great Hall.
She just barely heard Neville ask, "What was that about?" as she passed by, but
she didn't bother with an answer.
Once out of the large room Hermione stopped when she was out of view and leaned
up against a wall to let out a breath of air she had been holding. Why were
those two being so cynical? Maybe it would have been better if her mouth had
said a different name. Still, she couldn't just sit there and listen to the
accusations that may or may not be true. She was leaning toward true herself,
but still, he was Narcissa's son and she considered the woman a friend. One of
the few-the only one-she could talk to about certain circumstances. She wasn't
going to just sit back and let them mouth him off after discovering that his
mother wasn't a bad person herself.
She was about to push herself off from the wall when she noticed a group of
Slytherins come out from the Great Hall, Malfoy at the front. Pansy, Crabbe,
Zabini-
No, Blaise. That's what you called him at the table. She watched as they walked
the opposite way, obviously taking the longer route to class that the sixth-
year Gryfindors and Slytherins shared this morning. Taking a moment to think
about it she pushed from the wall to follow after them. If her alibi was going
to work she needed to speak with him and make a convincing enough reason for
him to back her up. He might be a Slytherin but she wasn't going to listen to
stereotypes about them. Never judge a book by it's cover.
Well, except her actual husband. Insanity being written on his face and by her
interactions with him, very much insane. Of the course the fact that he had
been... she frowned slightly as she walked. What House had he been in during
his years at Hogwarts? She wanted to say Slytherin, but no one had ever
actually told her, not that they had any reason to and Harry didn't know
either.
Deciding it didn't matter right now she focused back on the pack of Slytherins
infront of her as her mind started working on a way to first and foremost,
separate Blaise from the herd.
Keeping far enough back that she hoped not to be noticed her mind spun,
thinking of a possibility only to throw it back out a second later. She
supposed she could just call out to him, but she would rather not have the
other Slytherins listening in or even being around. Chucking that out she
started roaming over the next idea. Molding it until it cracked and she had to
start again. It felt neverending and almost painful everytime another one hit
the ground.
Glancing casually back in their direction she froze in her tracks. He was gone,
the rest were walking-turning a corner actually-but he... "Fuck." she hissed
only to jump a moment later.
"Granger cursed. Almost can't believe what my ears heard." She turned quickly
to see Blaise Zabini leaning against the wall as he looked at her. "Can't say
I'm shocked though, what with you following a group of Slytherins. Since when
did a lion go and voluntarily walk into a nest of snakes?"
Since extreme circumstances and my idiocy called for it, she muttered in her
mind. When she spoke she just got straight to the point, not wanting to beat
around the bush. "I need a favor."
At her words he certainly looked surprised. "And she gives a plausible reason."
He was silent for a second though before simply asking, "Why?"
Hermione frowned, she didn't know how to explain and she most definetly didn't
want to go into details if she could avoid it. "I dug myself into a metaphoric
hole and my mind wasn't working at the time therefore I need your help
specifically, and that's all you really need to know."
"You could atleast tell me what this favor concerns so I could actually think
it over, and of course you would owe me a favor in return." Typical Slytherin.
"That's fine. As long as you agree to help me with a little thing concerning,"
she fought with herself in her head for a second before making a decision on
what to say. Just be truthful, no more need to cause more problems. "this
marriage law. I would also like to limit the amount of questions if you don't
mind." she said gritting her teeth and hoping this would work.
"The marriage law? What are you planning to do throw a revolt against the
Ministry? Everyone here knows you were there yesterday apparently 'fixing your
match'. You created mainly two rumors because of that; either you were about to
be thrown in Azkaban or actually got your match changed." There was a
suspicious tone to his voice that she found annoying.
She had tried to get thrown in Azkaban and it hadn't worked. It had backfired
on her in a very unpleasant manner. Her fingers twitched for the second time
since coming back to Hogwarts.
Was it going to be like this all the time? Remembering that damn mark on her
neck that she swore almost seemed to tingle, though she knew it was just the
lace pressing against it. "I was obviously not thrown in Azkaban as I am
standing here and I did not change my match." she snapped quickly, anger biting
through her tone. Married to Bartemius Crouch Jr, her last name now Crouch.
Gosh if the Ministry hadn't sent that letter she would have been shunned and
ridiculed like crazy. "No one can change their match. But that doesn't mean I
can't fabricate one temporaily for the next four months."
Blaise looked about to interupt but she could see a certain understanding in
those eyes so he must have gotten the message of what the favor was, but she
might as well elaborate. "I need you to pretend that I'm your match and I'll do
the same and it better bloody well be convincing. Which means you can't be on
school grounds on the weekends because I won't be here since I'll be with my...
match." she had almost said husband. "As the law requires. So yes, he isn't at
this school, and no you can't know who. I don't want anymore rumors about me
running about, nor the Daily Prophet sticking it's nose into my business as
they're sure to be doing to plenty other students here."
"Wouldn't it be easier if you asked another Gryfindor?" A sense of panic rushed
through her and she went to speak again but was quickly cut off, "I'm not
saying no."
Her shoulders that had begun to rise self-consciously lowered. "I can't. They
were asking me about my match then it got turned into a guessing game and my
mind just blanked and yours got mentioned and I just can't." She had to
restrict herself from throwing her hands up in frustration causing them to
shake at her sides. "I need your help with this."
"That bad of a match huh?" Hermione was about to snap at him when he said, "I
don't ask you about your match, and you don't ask me about mine." She felt
curiosity peak as to why he wouldn't mention his either but considering hers
she just nodded her head. He wouldn't be in the exact same situation as her
obviously but she figured that-like her-he simply wasn't ready to announce it
to the whole school or have them sneaking about trying to figure it out. "Then
it's a deal. We just have to interact every once and awhile, like talk, right?"
"Yes." she said quickly. "Just talk, hangout a bit. That should be enough to
convince everyone." After what Barty did to her she didn't want to be touched.
Even after her shower she could still feel his hands occasionaly ghosting over
her skin.
"As well as not being here every weekend."
"That's right."
"I do like that part, and it'll help with my own-Class is starting in a few
minutes, better run for it."
She just nodded her head, pretending she hadn't heard the first part of the
sentance as it was obvious from his expression that he hadn't planned to
divulge that little bit of information. It made her feel less like a bitch
though if that helped him with his own match.
Taking off at a run after him down the hall she hurried to class behind him.
It was just before the bell rang-announcing that all students should be in
class by now-that the door to the Potions classroom was swung open and the two
raced into class to opposite sides of the room. As she sat in her seat,
swinging her bag into place under the desk Ron stared at her the whole time,
looking to Zabini then right back at her. The moment he started to open his
mouth Hermione hissed a "Shut up." in his direction.
Ron frowned at her and looked away to focus on the front of the room for once.
Harry just gave her a look of disbelief. It was as if the both of them thought
she had been joking when she said Blaise was her match. Which, she was... in a
way, but they weren't suppose to know who.
It wasn't any of their buisness, she told herself as Slughorn started talking
about what this lesson would pertain too. Her husband, who he was, what he had
done to her-she had to fight back a shiver that crawled down her spine at the
mere memory-it wasn't something they needed to know about. She wasn't even sure
how a person would go about telling anyone-much less their friends-about that
sort of thing. It wasn't something even she wanted to think about. So she
didn't.
Pushing it to the back of her mind she put all her attention into the lesson,
only talking with Harry since Ron seemed to have decided he wasn't talking to
her. She ignored him right on back.
Her day seemed to continue like that through most of her classes, being ignored
or ignoring the whispers around her that she would occasionaly catch a few
words from.
"...came rushing through the door right behind Zabini..."
"... saw them running..."
"... a match?"
It would seem that the little stunt in Potions had started up rumors all on its
own. Good. Then it would be easier for the two of them to convince everyone
that they were a match, up until Blaise got married that is... She should
really ask how much time she would be able to hide behind him. Otherwise when
that time came she could just not tell anyone who her husband was no matter how
much they pestered her about it. Yeah, that seemed like a good idea.
As soon as she stepped into the Gryfindor commons she was pulled aside by
Ginny. "What is it?" she asked, wondering what was up.
"Oh it's nothing." Ginny said with a wave of her hand. "Just the fact that you
and Blaise were apparently with eachother after breakfast, or that's what the
rumors say since no one saw you together except in the dungeon hall and how you
two rushed into Potions right before the bell rang."
"You sound surprised." Hermione said while lowering her own voice seeing that
some people had glanced over, obviously wanting to confirm what the rumors were
saying about the two.
"Well, I know he's your match and all-"
"Blaise is your match?" Lavender Brown interupted whatever Ginny had been about
to say and Hermione was rather thankful she had. "So it's true then?"
"Yes. The Ministry matched me up with Blaise Zabini." She said it loud enough
for the whole room to hear since everyone was eavesdropping anyway. Turning to
Ginny she just asked, "Isn't it time to go and meet your parents and hear about
your brothers?"
"Yeah I'll go get Ron and Harry." Ginny replied before going off to find the
two, apparently having sensed that Hermione wanted to leave.
She followed after her friend, ignoring the people talking around her about the
matches of the seventh years and her. Gossiping seemed rather popular today
with all this marriage law stuff going on. She wondered for a moment if they
would be this giddy when their own letters came from them. Though they wouldn't
end up getting a worse pairing than hers, so they could have that comfort. Of
course reactions would range anywhere from happy to miserable depending on but
atleast they wouldn't get set up with someone that used them as an excuse of
following the law.
It made her sick just thinking about it, about him. The way he spoke to her,
treated her, the fact that he could-and was-getting away with it. But what he
had said was true, her complaints would never reach anyone but a Death Eater
and they wouldn't care about her plight. They would probably laugh and rejoice
at the knowledge of what was happening to her. They would find it amusing.
There was just no way in hell though that she was going to tell her friends
that she was now married to one and had been raped on her wedding night because
of the law. The law... this was all the Ministry's fault. She wanted to wring
the person's neck that had proposed the law. Watch their eyes bug out, face
become purple-
"Hermione," a hand laid on her shoulder and she glanced up to see Ginny with
Harry and Ron beside her looking at her with worry in their eyes. "are you
okay?"
It took her a moment to realize that her nails were digging into her palms,
that her jaw had tightened so much that her teeth were grinding against
eachother, a scowl across her face. All because she had been thinking about it.
After telling herself not to, to just forget it and not think about him while
at school. She still had homework to catch up on, and just because O.W.L.'s
were last year didn't mean she could let up on her exams this year.
Taking a breath she slowly uncurled her fingers, loosening her jaw to stop the
growing pain that had started there. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go."
Ginny looked about to insist that she wasn't-which was true-when Harry
interjected, "McGonagall said we could use the fireplace and floo powder in her
room."
Hermione smiled at him just to show that she was grateful for it before taking
the lead in going to the Professor's room. Slipping through the door she
turned, already knowing where the fireplace was after her first time through
here. She shoved the memory aside as she took a handful of floo powder and
stepped inside the ash covered hearth.
"Don't come back too late." Professor Mcgonagal said from her chair, who was
apparently watching the four of them go.Hermione gave a nod along with the
others before saying, "The Burrow." as she threw the powder down. She closed
her eyes so she didn't have to see the flames, though her stomach gave an
uneasy twist as it made her feel as if she was floating along with the
spinning. If there was anything she was going to do after Hogwarts it was going
to come up with a better way to travel. Everything nowadays was capable of
making people sick in one way or another.
"Hermione!" At the sound of her name her eyes flew open as Mrs. Weasely grabbed
her arm, urging her out from the fireplace, "Come on, don't want to keep
everyone waiting." Ducking low so she didn't hit her head she followed her into
the living room to get hugged a moment later. "It's so good to see you!"
She couldn't help but smile as she hugged the woman back. "It's good to see you
too Mrs. Weasley." It was just good to be back in this house. A place so full
of life rather than the one she now lived in-No, stop thinking about that
place. You're at the Burrow now.
While she was scolding herself the others had come through and been similarily
greeted by . "Sit, sit." The woman was saying, waving her hands towards the
couch. "George and Fred will be here any minute, your father as well." she
added to Ginny and Ron.
Hermione walked over to sit on the couch first, sticking to the right side as
Ginny sat beside her with Harry and Ron further to the right. A few seconds
later the fire blazed green and Mrs. Weasely called out the twins names and
ushered them into the living room area. Mr. Weasley came through the door and
Molly dragged him into a chair before sitting down herself.
"Spill it!" Ginny said before her brother's could even start speaking which
caused a round of laughter to go through the house before things settled again.
"Fine, fine." Fred said, with his hands up before clearing his throat as if
about to deliver a speech. "After much processing and planning on the
Ministry's part-" his words were met with a snicker from Ron and Hermione just
rolled her eyes at the jab being made at the Ministry. Though she didn't
particularily mind that they were making fun of the idiots that worked there.
Along with Death Eaters, her mind whispered. "-Their fantastic ritual-" Ginny
giggled at the heavy sarcasm applied to the single word, thankfully interupting
Hermione's straying thoughts and allowing her to stop her hand from curling
into a fist again. "-has decided that my match will be," he paused, obviously
for dramatic effect.
"Just say her name already and be done with it!" Ron snapped rather irritably
at his brother.
Fred waited an extra second while looking at Ron clearly just to irritate him
further before saying who his match was, "Katie Bell."
It was quite for a moment and then Harry asked, "You guys were dating before
they came up with the law though, right?"
"Yup, so it could be that the Ministry knows what it's doing with that ritual
or they just saw us together so they put us together. Which in that case they
wouldn't know what they're doing and are just guessing and using a ritual as an
excuse that everyone is right for eachother."
"What about you George?" Ginny asked.
"Angelina Johnson." George answered.
"Weren't you also going out beforehand?" Ron was the one to ask this time.
"Yes. That's why we came up with the conspiracy theory."
Even knowing such a theory couldn't possibly be true a part of her wondered if
everything would have turned out differently if she had been dating someone
herself before this whole mess started. Like maybe the Death Eaters would have
targeted someone else. Someone else a part of the Order. Her mind went to Ginny
and she shook her head softly so it wasn't too noticeable. No, she would never
want her friend to go through what she had, plus whatever else Barty has
planned for her.
A rush of anger went through her. He should have stayed locked up in Azkaban.
She wasn't even sure how he got out the first time, but he should have stayed
locked up then as well. If he had just never gotten out then Voldemort wouldn't
have risen again and-
She fought back a sigh to not let everyone around her know that she was no
longer with them. Hermione wasn't even laughing at whatever the twins were
joking about that was making the others practically shake the entire house with
their laughter.
What she had just thought wasn't completely true. Barty had been a major part
of Voldemort coming back since he got Harry into the graveyard but it was that
scared rat, Pettigrew that had helped with the ritual. All because he was
scared of Voldemort, he helped him for such a stupid reason. You would think
someone like that wouldn't, that they would want to hide and avoid the dark
wizard. Instead he helped his nightmare come back to life. The person that
killed his friends, made him give up the damned location.
It was all Pettigrew's fault.
Barty had just happened to be there... somehow. She doubted he was an animagus
like Sirius had been. That's how Sirius had gotten out of Azkaban, because he
wasn't a registered animags. It didn't matter how he had gotten out anymore now
though. Besides, it was obviously Voldemort and other Death Eaters that had
sprung him this time. The Ministry wasn't the sort of government to drag
prisoners back out when new evidence was revealed. It may be cruel, but the
Ministry was certainly worse than any muggle government she had personally
known.
This marriage law definitely wouldn't have passed in the muggle world. Stupid
wizards. Whoever had thought up this ridiculous law should truly suffer for
eternity. The same with whoever had made the ritual they were using for
thinking that it was possible to determine who would be best with who. Not to
mention making it so easy to mess with. She seriously wished that she knew
everything about the ritual so she could look it up and see if any part of it
even had the slightest possibility of being legit. Which she highly doubted she
would find. Breaking into the Ministry to find it would give her something
constructive to do as well-
Hermione yelped when she was jabbed sharply in the shoulder and turned to glare
at Ginny. "What was that for?"
"I'm not answering your question until you answer mine."
"What question?" She snapped annoyed at her thoughts being interupted. Right
when she was coming up with something to do during the weekend too. She would
rather have something to do other than Barty.
Ginny had jumped slightly at the sharpness in her voice and Hermione regretted
snapping as she had in the next second and was on the verge of apologizing when
Fred cut in, "About your match. It's not fair that just the three of them know.
Plus we heard you went storming to the Ministry." They had heard about it? But
they weren't even from Hogwarts! That receptionist must have talked. "Ginny
just said that you actually got a mistake in your letter."
Not a mistake, a mistake was accidental. Hers was on purpose. She was really
starting to hate the Death Eaters more than she had thought herself capable of
these days. "Yes." she confirmed her alibi. "They put someone else's match on
my paper by accident so I went off to the Ministry to get it sorted out. It
took a whole day for them to figure it out of course." She rolled her eyes
cause she was sure that in reality it would have taken even longer if that was
really the case. "I got it all sorted out though and my actual match was Blaise
Zabini."
There was a rather large sigh of relief that made Hermione turn her head to see
Mrs. Weasley was smiling. "I'm so glad you all got good matches."
"But he's a Slytherin and a Pure Blood." Ron said. So is Barty Hermione thought
before reprimanding herself. She didn't actually know about the Slytherin part,
but he certainly was a Pure Blood.
"Yes, he may be but his family's reputation does not have the history of being
part of the Death Eaters and I haven't heard much about him being a bully from
any of you throughout your school years." Molly said this firmly while looking
at Ron. "Besides, if he were to try anything I'm sure Hermione would be more
than a match for him."
She couldn't help but smile back at the woman from the compliment. Though she
doubted Blaise was that sort of guy. Her real husband was however and she
hadn't been able to protect herself from him. Feeling her smile start to crack
she turned quickly to Fred and George. "Are you going to tell us when you plan
to get married?" She wanted to steer the conversation to a safer place, away
from her.
"You first." Fred said quickly.
Hermione scowled lightly at how fast he turned the question back on her but
just answered it promptly. "The last day, twenty fifth of January." The same
thing she had orginally wanted before her marriage happened. Before she was-
"Now it's your turn." she said quickly to stop herself from thinking back on
last night.
"Mine is on the the tenth of January, George's on the seventeenth of December."
It made sense. George and Angelina had been going out longer so they were more
comfortable with marrying a fews weeks sooner than his brother. Though she
didn't fail to notice that both were in the last half of the required time to
get married.
"Oh good." Molly got up from her chair. "That'll give us time to prepare for
each of your weddings then and they don't overlap. So I want to talk to you two
about what you want to do for your weddings." she said to Fred and George
before turning to Hermione. "Hermione would you like to use-"
The door to the house was practically blown off the hinges, it made a loud bang
as it slammed into the wall interupting Mrs. Weasley's question and making the
woman squeel in fear.
"Remus!" Mrs. Weasley yelled just a second after Hermione recognized him under
the layer of blood that was splattered across his face. With a wave of a wand
the door closed behind the werewolf just before everyone had ran across the
room to where he had collapsed on the floor.
Hermione was peering over Ginny's shoulder down at the Order member that was in
the center of the circle they had created, though they gave some space. Harry
was crouched next to Remus while Molly started casting spells to stop the
bleeding from numerous gashes that were focused along his arms, obviously he
had used them to defend the rest of his body as there was only a few places
along his robes that had cuts along them, blood staining the clothing.
"What happened?" She could hear Harry ask after casting a spell to keep the man
from blacking out. It wouldn't do for him to go into a coma.
"Give him a moment Harry." Arthur said who was just on the edge of the circle
as to not overwhelm his friend.
A few minutes passed before Remus had gotten to a state where he could speak
again and wasn't about to pass out from blood loss or otherwise. "Was
recruiting for the Order. I had just spoken with the Walgonn's, a half-blood
family that said they would join. After leaving their home I came across some
suspicious activity that had Death Eaters written all over it and went to
investigate-nothing big, just a little recon mission. I only managed to see a
group of them apparate away-"
Remus coughed and Harry leaned over, "Nevermind that. Who did this to you?"
Hermione just saw a flash of her friend's face twisted in anger. It was obvious
that Remus's self imposed recon mission had gone wrong and he didn't seem to
care about the details-he just wanted revenge.
Which she could understand. Remus coughed again before resuming speaking after
glancing at everyone that had more or less gathered around him. "Barty Crouch.
I went into the room to investigate what the Death Eaters had been doing and
he-" His words buzzed to the back of Hermione's mind though, it had begun the
moment he said the name.
There was a sick feeling in the back of her throat and it was slowly crawling
up. Her stomach felt sick, she felt- "Excuse me." She managed to huff out
before running to the bathroom, shoving the door open to turn and throw up in
the sink as she could tell she wouldn't be able to make it any further before
her dinner came back up. At that moment she was seriously regretting the amount
of food she had eaten earlier.
She could hear a flurry of footsteps behind her just before she caught sight of
Ginny in the mirror when she glanced up. Her gaze traveled back down a moment
later as she retched again. "Here." A pair of hands grabbed her hair and pulled
it away from her face.
It took almost a minute later till she was able to thank Ginny who handed her a
cloth towel. Grabbing it Hermione cleaned the skin around her mouth spitting
into the sink every once and awhile to try and get rid of the acidic tang that
was left in her mouth.
The taste just served to reinforce the growing sick feeling in her stomach.
"You okay?' Hermione nodded to Ginny's question even though she was far from
it.
Barty had done that to Remus. It didn't surprise her, but now that she was
married to him she almost felt responsible. He had left the house in a rage-
which she was sure had something to do with her-to do whatever Death Eater work
that ended up involving entering into a duel with Remus later on.
Though in her mind that still wasn't the worst of it. The bloody-stupid-allows-
itself-to-be-manipulated Ministry had gotten her married off to the monster and
wanted her to procreate with a person like that of all things. Again she was
aking herself the question of why she was stuck with him, why the Death Eaters
chose to put her through this out of everyone else. Her mind could come to the
quick conclusion that she fitted the age range and was Harry's best friend, not
to mention went to school and was around him most of the time.
All of it was making her queasy. She didn't want to think of how and what
spells had caused the damage to Remus but she found herself guessing on auto-
pilot. She didn't want to think about bringing another monster into the world
within the next three years either. It's just that she couldn't stop the
thoughts-
"How could the Ministry have let this happen!" Harry's outraged scream
shattered her thoughts and for a moment she felt pure bliss for not having to
deal with it before wondering why Harry was angry. Looking to the door she
could see Ginny hurrying back out of the bathroom to see what was up, Hermione
followed slowly gut twisting. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.
"The Ministry didn't do this." Arthur was saying, trying to get him to calm
down, but with one quick glance around the room it clearly wasn't just Harry
that was angry and would take the father awhile to get everyone to calm back
down.
"They let him out of Azkaban and because of that Remus was injured!" Her gut
twisted harder. "There's no way he actually ever took some tests to determine
he wasn't guilty! I saw him in the office after the Tri-Wizard Tournament and
he confessed to me that he did everything to make sure I would be in that
graveyard. He was overjoyed about Voldemort being back-"
"Don't say his name!" Molly shrieked though her cry was swallowed by Harry's
yells barely a second after.
"-Dumbledore had Snape used a potion to make him tell the truth! If they did
that at the Ministry they would know he's guilty and never have released him!
Voldemort and his Death Eaters sprang him from Azkaba-"
Hermione clapped her hands over her ears, squeezing her eyes shut to try and
drown out what she had suspected all along. She did not want to listen this,
not now, not ever. "I'll see you later Gin, I don't think staying here is good
for my health." she muttered quickly to her friend beside her. Without checking
that she was heard or even understood for that matter as Ron started yelling
his agreements with Harry she grabbed some floo powder and disapeared from the
fireplace moments later.
***** Chapter 7 *****
The ground stung her feet with each blow as she ran down a passage. A passage
she didn't recognize, shadows curling along the stone that kept shifting and
changing beneath it; black and white, a dark blue, fancy masonry, red so dark
it resembled blood...
A cry uttered from her lips as she ran. She couldn't be too late. She had to
stop him.
Voices cut through the air but she couldn't distinguish any of the words and
the closer she got to the room the softer they became until it was just
whispers weaving deliberately away from her ears. A series of loud snaps threw
her off and she came to a screeching halt, eyes wide, mouth open as she sucked
in breath after breath after running for so long she was sure her feet were
bleeding.
There was a scream that practically split her ears, it sent her back into
motion. "No, no, no." She hissed as she moved through the arch way eyes landing
on the bleeding body of Remus in the middle of the room. The ground below him
had wisps of shadow clinging to it, changing form just like the walls. The
whole room was covered with it so that it took her a moment to notice her
target standing over the member of the Order of the Phoenix.
His long black coat had at first looked like an extension of the darkness and
his face had been shadowed by the hood, but the moment she focused on him his
features came into alignment.
"Stop!" she screamed, the word echoing back at her an instant later. There was
no way it could have rebounded so fast, there was no way he could have heard
it. Her thoughts were only confirmed when a scream tore through the room.
"Barty!" Running quickly around the form on the floor to reach his side she
grabbed at the arm holding the wand that was launching curse after curse down
at the occupied section of floor. "Stop it! Please, stop it!"
No matter how much she tugged at his arm it didn't move, staying centered when
she tried to push the wand away. Turning her head she expected to see the
werewolf lying there but instead it was Ron on the floor bleeding out. She
whipped her head around, tears stinging at her eyes she slowly turned back to
see Harry had taken the red head's place.
Her cheeks were growing hot from the trails running down it, moving down to her
chin to fall and hit the ground below only to become consumed by the shadows.
Twisting her grip repeatedly to try and get him to stop inflicting pain on her
friends she screamed,
"No!"
With a start Hermione awoke; flying up from the bed, her breath coming fast,
covered in sweat even though her body felt cold beneath it. She stayed there
for a minute, her form obscured from view by the curtains pulled around her
bed. Slowly her arms moved up from her sides to wrap around her upper body as a
tremble went through her. Her heart was still pounding fast in her chest even
as the dream started to slip away. Curling her legs up she rested her forehead
on her knees until it finally fell away into oblivion, though she remembered
what it had been about and it sent a chill down her spine.
It was unforgiveable. Even if it was just one of the people she knew. She had
to figure out a way to get out of this marriage, to stop the sick feeling in
her stomach. And yet, her mind was drawing a blank.
It was telling her no. The law may apply to her but it's punishments did not.
There would be no going to Azkaban, no escaping it. Hands raised and fingers
curled into her hair. She already knew that though. She had tried and it hadn't
worked. Not yet anyways. Maybe if she thought it over again she would be able
to come up with something.
She gave a nod of her head to reassure herself before letting go of the strands
of her hair to settle her hands back down onto the blankets and moving her legs
down so she was sitting criss-cross on the bed.
Hearing the sounds of rustling around her as the other girls in the dorm room
started to get up she waited until she was breathing normally again until she
pulled back the curtain to grab her robes and get dressed, then head down to
the Great Hall.
This time she ate remarkably less than the other day. One because she wasn't as
hungry, two she didn't care to throw it all up later. She remained silent as
she rolled a piece of egg around her plate just listening to her friends idle
chatter.
"-if the hallways weren't a place to dicuss this what makes a place filled with
people eating any better?" Ginny was asking, effectively cutting into Ron and
Harry's conversation on the events of yesterday.
"Because the people eating and talking around us make it more difficult for
others to hear, learned that back in fifth year. Remember Hermione?" she just
nodded absently at Ron's words. "Besides, this is important. Why else would
the-"
"Ahem." Ginny mimicked Umbridge's little noise from last year.
"Why else would they leave someone behind to make sure no one was listening in
or snooping around afterwards? We know he found something or else he wouldn't
have been attacked. He said himself he wasn't able to get a better look at the
object before he was hit with the curse."
"He'll remember more once he's fully recovered." She could hear Harry's fork
clash angrily with the plate as he spoke, spearing whatever food onto the
utensil while probably scraping the silverware as well.
"Hey mate, he will recover. The doctor at Saint Mugos said it would just take a
few days but that he wasn't in critical condition or in any danger."
"Yes, but he's getting treated at Saint Mugos which is open to the public and
the Daily Prophet is saying Barty isn't guilty. He could waltz right in and
finish the job."
"I don't think a convicted Death Eater like Barty knows how to waltz." There
was a series of short laughter before Hermione felt an elbow prod at her side.
"Get it?"
Raising her head she glanced to Ron before sighing and looking back to her
food. She didn't care to get involved in the current conversation when she had
left early to avoid listening to anything else pertaining to Barty or Remus in
the first place. The fact that they were joking about him so easily also
unnerved her. If he wasn't her husband, if she hadn't gone to the Ministry just
days ago she probably would have laughed with them. As it was she remained
silent, scooping up eggs onto her fork before sticking the food in her mouth as
a way to avoid talking to them.
"What did I say?"
"Are you still not feeling well?" She gave a nod at Ginny's question, not
bothering to answer Ron. "You should go see Madam Pomfrey, she could give you a
potion for whatever you've caught." She gave another nod even though she didn't
see a reason to when she wasn't actually sick. "Mom is speaking to Fred and
George about their wedding and contacting Katie and Angelina's parents to
collaborate. What about you Hermione?"
"Huh?" She hadn't really been listening when Ginny had clearly begun speaking
to Harry and Ron again.
"Aren't your parents trying to plan your wedding?"
It took her a moment to realize what she was talking about considering her
wedding had already happened. Great, another thing she would have to deal with
later was telling them she was already married. Right now wasn't the time
though. When the ruse between her and Blaise was over she would, but not now.
"Uh, no. I haven't had the chance to tell them about what's been happening in
the Wizarding World. Sending a letter would have just given them a heart
attack."
"Well today is Friday, you could spend all weekend trying to explain it to
them."
"Yeah-or no." she said while remembering that she was spending all weekend with
Barty. Joy. She cringed inwardly. Which meant she would only have today to try
and tell her parents what she could. At Ginny's questioning gaze she quickly
explained, "I'm spending it with Blaise. To get to know eachother better. I'm
busy most of the week and he agreed that that would work best for him as well."
"Oh, sounds like the two of you are already getting along. Perhaps that
conspiracy theory Fred and George were going on about isn't true." Ginny was
rolling her eyes at the last bit, a clear sign she didn't buy it. Neither did
Hermione and she gave a little smile as her agreement with the other Gryfindor.
"So the Ministry is right in putting you together with a Slytherin?" Ron asked
making Hermione grind her teeth together.
"Don't start with that again Ronald." she said and stood up grabbing her bag as
she did so. "Come on, we have class."
She kept going over in her head how to phrase the words she would need to say
to her parents in every class. She didn't want to full on lie to them but she
couldn't just say the complete truth either. Coming up with a way to balance
out the two was difficult though and it was steadily distracting her from
class. Her quil hand had relentlessly made notes on it's own though as it had
become a habit over th years. She hardly needed to think about it anymore and
since she wasn't entirely focusing she would just end up with what the
Professor said word for word rather than her own little notes sprinkled in with
the rest.
After the last class she made her way to McGonagall's room leaving the message
of telling the Professor where she went to the others. The door was already
open with a note to any student that wanted to use the fireplace. Her eyes
skimmed over the words saying that all students needed to be back before
classes started on Monday as she stepped over the threshold and made her way to
the fireplace to be swallowed by green flames moments later after saying her
destination.
Instead of appearing in a fireplace that would have been to small she was on
the doorstep to her house-or rather her parents. With her marriage to Barty
technically his house was hers.
She reached into her pocket to grab the key, fingers brushing over the black
silk box she hadn't bothered to move from her robes. It was the only thing
Barty had given her that didn't hurt or was used to bring her to him every
weekend. Besides, she liked the feel of it on her fingers, it was soft and she
could probably find something to put inside the box eventually.
Turning the key into the lock she pushed open the door calling out as she
walked inside, "Mum? Dad?"
"Hermione?" A surprised voice sounded from the kitchen area as she shut the
door behind her. Her mother appeared in the living room a second later, spatula
in hand with a red sauce slowly moving its way down threatening to spill onto
the carpet. "Hi honey! Why are you not at school?"
"Well I-umm, Mum?" Hermione pointed to the kitchen utensil were a thick glob
had gathered and was barely a second away from falling.
At her prompting her mother turned and quickly moved a hand beneath to catch it
before looking over at her. "Why don't you come into the kitchen and we can
talk while I cook."
With a nod of her head she followed her mother in to the kitchen, watching the
woman go to the stove and start stirring some homemade sauce. "Is Dad home?"
she asked while pulling out a chair and sitting in it.
"Your father is at a meeting about some new upgraded equipment and the company
that makes it across town. He won't be back 'till Sunday." For a moment she was
unsure how to take the news that her father was away. Both her parents were
bound to flip out when she told them, maybe this would be easier with only one.
"So what did you come here for? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but you've
never showed up like this before during school." The words were said in the
quick universal mother ramble causing Hermione to grin slightly.
"Just to talk." she paused for a moment to figure out the wording that was
starting to slip away now that she was actually here. "There's been some
changes going on in the Wizarding World the last few days. One change,
actually. It's a law and it effects me because I'm seventeen and therefore meet
the age requirement of the law that everyone from seventeen to fourty have to
take part in it. Well, most of them."
The mention of law clearly caught her mother's attention as she turned around
to look at Hermione instead of the stove where her hand was still idly stirring
some spaghetti around in another pot. "A law? What are they making you do?"
She had to catch herself from saying who though she still corrected it in her
head. "The Ministry..." she sighed. "It has come to the Ministry's attention
that the Pure-Blood families are having more squibs-people born of wizards and
witches without the ability to use magic-and because of this they have made a,"
she hesistated for a moment, before deciding not to say it outright and try to
have a chance to explain before her mother worked it out from the explanation.
"-a law. They call it the, Higher Conception Matrimony Law. They use a ritual
to pair people together and they have to marry within four months and then
procreate within three years."
"WHAT?" She winced when her mother screamed like a banshee. Apparently she had
put it together faster than Hermione initally thought she would. She had been
hoping it would take an extra second to sink in, but nothing got past her
mother. "There making you marry even though your so young?" The food was left
forgotten on the stove now as her mom stared intently at her.
"Well in medieval ages woman were married even-" She tried to defend the
Ministry-not entirely sure why she was doing so as the words just seemed to
slip from her mouth.
"This is not the medieval ages! I know the Wizarding World is a bit in the past
when it comes to things but this is just ridiculous! They want you to have a
baby because some Pure-Blood families aren't having magical children?"
"The wizarding population in Britain has steadily been going down for years as
well. They're trying to boost the overall population."
"That's no excuse for making a child have a child! I'm sure there are plenty of
adults capable of having a child! And what's this about them using a ritual to
'pair people together?'"
"I only know what the Daily Prophet said about the ritual because the
information about it was leaked. The ritual matches those with compatible
personalities, physical attraction, among other things that were not listed."
In most cases anyway.
"And this system works?" Her mother sounded skeptical.
"Well, Fred and George's matches were the women they were going out with."
Hermione supplied wanting to get past the law part of the conversation as it
wasn't entirely what she had wanted to say, or rather not the most important
aspect of it. "So yes, it works."
Her mother still didn't look convinced but she had calmed down somewhat. "What
about you?"
"I wasn't going out with anyone. From the rumors I have heard around school not
everyone was matched with someone they were dating. Also heard one of those
girls say that she hadn't believed it would have worked out with the person she
had been dating anyways."
"No, no, not that." The words were said quickly. "Who's your match suppose to
be?"
It seemed she had finally reached that part in the conversation. She hadn't
told a lie to her mom yet and she didn't want to. Hermione took in a breath
rationalizing in her mind that she couldn't just outright say his name since it
was likely her parents would speak with the Weasely's eventually. That they
would be invited by Mrs. Weasely to the twins weddings. She wouldn't be able to
say his name because of that. "He's a Pure-Blood-"
"From one of those families you mentioned before?"
"Yes."
"Which House is he in at your school? Is he nice? What's this boy like?"
"He-I-Slytherin," she settled on it because it was what Blaise was in and she
didn't know which House Barty had been in anyways. It would just cause problems
if Houses got brought up and her mother said the wrong one. "but he's never
bullied me or anyone else I know." Which was true for the one year he was at
the school, in the technical sense of the word bully. Her mother referring to
Barty as a boy was odd to hear but she just had to go with it. "I haven't
really had the chance to get to know him yet. The law is only a few days old."
From the expression on her mother's face she wasn't going to take that as an
excuse and Hermione hurried to say something about him, the man she actually
married. "He's intelligent, talented in many forms of magic, go-has high marks
in every class," she had been about to talk about his stay at Hogwarts in the
past tense but was quick to cover it. Her mother hadn't seemed to notice the
slip or just thought it was nerves. "very loyal to his friends, good at
planning, cunning, charming when he wants to be." She finally took the time to
breath after listing everything she could think of.
"For someone that just said you don't really know him that was quite a lot. He
sounds nice." Hermione blinked, having not expected that response as she so far
hadn't found him to be very nice. "I still don't care for you marrying him at
such a young age, but it sounds like you like him so far. I also don't want you
having children at your age-"
"Mum, it's the law to have a child within the first three years of marriage."
"I don't care about the damn law! It's okay if you like him and marry him but I
don't see a single reason why you have to have a child so early on. You have
your whole life ahead of you, it shouldn't be cut short just because some law
says-"
"Mum!" She had to shout to catch her mother's attention and was glared at a
moment later for having interupted her.
"I taught you better manners than that-"
"Mum, it's the law. Anyone that goes against it gets thrown into Azkaban."
"Azkaban?"
"Wizard's prison, patrolled by creatures known as Dementors that suck all the
happiness from people."
"They would throw you into Azkaban if you didn't have children for some stupid
law?" Outrage was pouring into her mother's voice once again. "The Wizarding
Society really is backwards with the times!"
"Mu-" Hermione stopped herself realizing it was futile and just pushed the
words of her mother from her mind as she stood up from the chair and walked out
of the kitchen.
Footsteps followed her quickly after into the living room. As she made her way
to the door to leave her mother yelled loudly so that it cut through the fog
she had been developing in her mind to drown it all out. "I'm not going to let
you go back to that place if this is what they do to their citizens!"
She stopped in her tracks for a moment before whirling around and shouting
right on back, "I'm already married!" the words were out of her mouth before
she could stop them. Seeing her mom just standing there staring at her daughter
in clear shock Hermione turned quickly, throwing open the door when she stormed
out and hurried down the sidewalk to get away from the house.
Soon enough she was out of the neighborhood and her pace slowed as she walked
ignoring the stares she got for her weird clothes. She couldn't believe she had
just done that after going through the pains of making sure not to say anything
about her marriage and rather avoid the topic all together. It had just been so
frustrating though. Her mother simply hadn't been allowing her to explain and
she just hadn't been able to hold it back.
She couldn't go to Azkaban, that option didn't apply to her. While she wouldn't
have been able to tell her mother that incase it got around somehow she had
wanted to explain the three major ways one would get sent to Azkaban according
to the law. To make her understand that it was just something everyone was
going to be put through and that there wasn't a way around it. Also because she
knew she had to let her parents know about it. She just wished it had gone
better.
Finally coming out from her thoughts she looked around her to see where she had
walked to and realized she was deep within the city. With a sigh she walked up
to a map for a bus stop system to figure out where exactly she was then made
the long trek to The Leaky Cauldron.
She only stayed on the ground floor long enough to pay for a room and get the
key to it before withdrawing up the stairs to find the appropriate numbered
door then slip inside. Closing it behind her she slipped to the ground with her
back lying against it as she stared around the room.
Her eyes landed on the clock that said it was just a few minutes past midnight.
She let out a breath at seeing the time. That meant she barely had five hours
left before the portkey-or rather keys-activated and took her to Barty.
It took her a moment but she pushed herself up from the ground and went over to
the bed to lay ontop of the covers and get some sleep as exhaustion from the
day hit her.The sensation of spinning around is what brought her out from her
sleep. Her stomach turned when she opened her eyes to see a blur of grey
passing before her eyes right before the world snapped back into place. She
found herself lying on the bottom of the fireplace, the dark dust-covered grate
open, seeming to frame the living room and kitchen area that was highlighted by
a single strip of gray morning light.
There was something wriggling in her robe, trapped by her hand that had landed
on the fold of cloth. She raised it to see her wand slip out from her robes and
away, moving to the window where the bench closed the moment the wand was
within. She blinked when an object on it seemed to glow, circular shaped,
keeping the bench closed. A lock.
A rush of anger went through her, pushing herself up she walked quickly for the
hallway that was right across from where the fireplace was. Turning the corner
sharply she continued to the end of the hall where his door was, currently
closed. Her hand curled into a fist at her side and she raised it quickly to
slam against the dark wood.
Before she could even call his name the door was yanked open to reveal Barty
standing there looking down at her. "It's a bit early in the morning-"
"How dare you!" She screamed before he could finish the sentance and hit him in
the chest though he hardly looked as if he had felt it. "You take the most
important choice in my life away from me! You lock my wand up! You rape me! And
then you dare to hurt my friends? You may be able to hurt me as much as you
want but don't touch my friends! What the hell did Remus do to deserve what you
did to him?"
His face had been still as stone up until she mentioned Remus, his eyes
narrowing ever so slightly. "You saw Remus?"
"Not only him! What you did to him! The scars..." a sob broke though her words,
"the blood. Wh-Hey!" She let out a shout when his hand clamped down on her
wrist and he started walking past her into the hall, dragging her along. "Let
go of me!" Hermione snapped while tugging on her arm to no avail. Her feet were
slipping on the wood floor, forcing her to walk with him so she didn't fall
over.
"What did he say?" She was yanked to a stop and his other hand had moved to
grab her chin to make her look at him.
"What? Why does it matter what he said? You hurt him!"
"I'm a Death Eater, he's part of the Order and was snooping around where he
shouldn't have been. Now, what did he tell you?"
She narrowed her own eyes back at him. "He told me that you were the one that
attacked him! And I don't see how anything else is more important than that!"
The grip on her chin had tightened to the point that she couldn't move her
mouth to continue yelling at him. "I do, and you will tell me what I want to
know." With the grip released now as he reached for the door knob of one she
hadn't been able to open before she shifted her jaw slightly. It had started to
hurt from the way he had gripped her and applied force to it. She was tugged
forward when the door started to open and opened her mouth to snap at him again
only to gape at the room behind him that was now viewable to her.
Her breath started to come fast as her eyes scanned over the shapes she could
see as there was no light inside. "What are you doing?" From the grin that she
recieved she knew it couldn't be good. "Barty?" she started tugging at her arm
again when he began moving deeper into the dark room, eyes snapping around the
rather threatening looking shapes within.
He tugged right on back, forcing her to follow him inside. "You sure you don't
want to tell me right now?"
"I don't have anything else to say to you! Now let me go!"
She could just see the outline of his shoulder shrug at her words. "Not yet."
His hand was waved back at her-no the door she realized as she heard it close
behind her thrusting the room into a state of pitch black. "Come on." his voice
had suddenly dropped to a more angry tone and she stumbled after him when her
arm was tugged on.
"What-" she had begun to repeat her question from before when she felt herself
pulled infront of him, heard a familiar clang echo in her ears, felt metal
clasp around her wrists when each arm was raised. They weren't together though
and she was still standing, not sure yet if those little facts were a good or
bad thing. Hearing his footsteps moving away she craned her neck to try and
follow the sound, but she couldn't see him anyways so stopped trying to.
"Barty? What are you doing?"
"You'll know in a moment sweetheart." She bit at her lip, not liking the tone
of voice he had used or that he was calling her sweetheart all of the sudden.
Light suddenly seemed to flicker into the room. A more natural light then one
from a bulb. The crackle of flames let her know he had lit a fire. The one
thing that troubled her was that all she could see from where she was was a
large empty room. Well, not entirely empty from what she could see, there was a
large metal looking box in one corner, but that was it. All the other shapes of
things she had seen in the dark had to be behind her.
A clang of metal on stone reached her ears and her breath hitched for a moment,
when it didn't come again she relaxed as her mind tried to rationalize what he
was doing back there. Minutes passed by and he still hadn't said anything, and
she... she simply didn't bother. She doubted that he would give her a straight
answer, if he bothered to answer at all.
A light scraping of metal across stone caught her attention and she could hear
his footsteps coming back toward her. There was a whisper of words she didn't
quite catch and her clothes had disapeared by the end of it. She could actually
see her school robes along with socks, shoes, and other clothes neatly stacked
near the doorway. It was cold in the early morning and she shivered without
anything to fight off the cold.
"Now I want you to keep still or else this won't come out right." His breath
moving over her shoulder let her know where he was, but she still couldn't see
him which sent a surge of panic through her.
She opened her mouth initially to ask what wouldn't come out right if she moved
to cut herself off when a scream tore it's way up her throat. Something hot had
just been applied to her left side and it was searing into her flesh. She
turned to try and twist away but whatever it was just seemed to follow her,
staying on her skin the whole time. It was burning, she could smell it, her own
skin peeling away. She gasped in air only to have the taste in her mouth before
unleashing another scream. The chains rattled above her to join in with her
screams.
When it-whatever it was-was finally pulled away she was left gasping, her
throat sore from screaming for what felt like an eternity. Fingers were soon
pressing around the skin that had been affected and she whimpered at his touch.
"Edges aren't as clear cut as I would have liked, but it came out better than I
thought it would with all your struggling." There was a short chuckle. "I
thought I told you to stay still, Hermione."
Taking in a breath it took her a few seconds before she could speak. "You never
told me you were going to do that." her voice shook with each word.
"Would it have made a difference if I had?" There was a long silence in which
she didn't respond. No, she doubted it would have made a difference. His breath
was running along her ear when he spoke, "Are you willing to speak now?"
Her heart pounded at the words and if he was within sight she would have
glared. So that's what this was about. He wanted to know what Remus had told
the Order about what had been seen where the Death Eaters had been, what they
were up to. He wanted to know how much the Order knew. It must have been an
important meeting. Her lips twisted up into a smile. "I don't know anything."
For a moment all she could feel was the repeated press of his breath on her
ear. The next thing she knew his fingers were wrapped around her throat raising
her so she was forced to stand on her tiptoes. "You're lying to me." He rasped.
She whimpered around the fingers clasped around her throat the sound even more
pathetic in her ears because it didn't seem to come out properly with her
airway being pressed upon.
"Hermione, dear," she tried to let out a sob but she found it impossible to do
so. "for a marriage to work you have to be honest, and you're not doing that.
So how do you expect it to work when you're not doing everything you can to
make it work? I asked you a question, all you have to do is answer it
truthfully."
His hand left her throat and she gasped for air, knees giving out so they were
half curled beneath her, leaving her hanging by the chains wrapped around her
wrists that were now cutting into the skin again. Once she was sure her voice
wouldn't falter she spoke, "I don't think a marriage constitutes the right for
you to torture your own wife."
There was a sharp laugh above her and she winced at the sound. "Oh Hermione,
you should have answered the question." His footsteps going back away made her
turn and twist her head to see the outline of a fire in a stone hearth. That
would explain the sound of stone and metal she had heard before. She still
couldn't see what he was doing but she heard it again and bit at her lip before
turning her head quickly wondering if he had caught her trying to look.
It took the same amount of time before he was walking back to her, though she
heard him place an object along the stone again before she heard the steps on
the floor.
"Lets try this again."
The moment the hot metal was pressed to a spot just below the first one she
screamed. The chains echoing her cries above her. She couldn't move as much
this time with her knees bended beneath her and each time she tried to rise to
her feet the preassure on her side pressed even harder sending out a wave of
pain from the spot.
Hermione was left gasping when he took it away and fully expecting for him to
continue to ask her to answer his question. When he didn't and she just heard
his steps echoing around the room, a splash then hiss as the metal previously
on her skin was dropped into a bucket of water. It sent her heart hammering in
her chest. Another clang on stone, the steps coming back to her. Her mind
quickly put it all together. Knowing what was coming she bit at her lip but the
screams still came when the metal was pressed lower along her skin.
She felt the burning pain along her flesh three more times before it stopped.
When there wasn't another clang on stone she knew when it was the last one. She
had pressed her head along one of her extended arms breathing slowly in and
out, trying to catch her breath as he hadn't given her much of a break
inbetween them after the first one.
Finally though he walked infront of her, and her gaze flickered up to meet his,
the exact moment their eyes met he started to talk. "You seem to be under the
impression that you're a Granger. So I'm going to clear it up for you. The
moment you were married to me you were made a Crouch. A family that is a part
of the Death Eaters, not your Order of the Phoenix. A family that is suppose to
be loyal to its own. Except you're not being very loyal right now are you?" She
just breathed out in response watching as his expression turned into a twisted
grin. With a wave of his hand a mirror was formed in thin air. "Maybe you need
to see what you are to believe it."
At first she didn't understand what he was saying. As the mirror turned slowly
to her left her eyes followed it and she cried out when she could finally see
what he had done to her side, the image reflected back at her. It was burned
right into her skin, branded. The name Crouch written vertically, the skin at
the edges cracked, little traces of red from blood along the side of the
letters. "Stop it! Make it go away!" She cried, not wanting to see it. Hermione
already tried to avoid remembering she was married to him and now the truth was
burned right into her skin. Turning her head away from the mirror she looked at
him, tears stinging at her eyes threatening to spill over.
"I can, once you tell me everything you know." She started to shake her head to
have her jaw gripped hard, stopping the movement. He was sitting infront of her
now, level with her hanging body. "How did Remus know we were holding a meeting
in that location?" his voice was suddenly soft and she let out a whimper.
"Hermione." she could feel his hand move up from her jaw, cupping her cheek,
thumb wiping across the skin just below her eye every other second, removing
the tears that had begun to fall."He-he didn't." A sob broke between her words.
"Go on." The words were so soft she thought she had imagined them.
Fingers were pressing along the other side of her face now, moving gently
across her skin and she found herself leaning into the touch, yearning for
something that wouldn't bring pain. "It was a coincidence, he was just passing
by after-" She cut herself off quickly and pulled her face away from his hands
realizing he was playing games with her mind. "No." she said the single world
firmly.
"After?" She shook her head at the question, she wasn't going to tell him
anymore then she already had. She wouldn't be the one responsible for the death
of a half-blood family. He seemed to wait a few more minutes but she never once
opened her mouth. Issuing a sigh he stood back up. "Very well." After making
the mirror disappear he looked back at her. "Stand up Hermione." She didn't
move knowing he wasn't just going to give up on getting the information after
what he put her though. "I said," moving forward his hands wrapped around her
upper arms. "Stand the bloody hell up!"
Hermione cringed when he dragged her up to her feet. His sudden yell sent fear
pouring to every centimeter of her body. Barty had never yelled at her like
that before, granted she hadn't been married to him for very long. Still, she
could tell that she had pissed him off. Watching as he walked past her and
hearing him coming back barely a second later.
"I'll give you one piece of advice. Stay standing, or there will be
consequences."
She expected him to stay where she couldn't see him, so when he walked around
her to stand infront of her she was surprised. Even more so when she saw what
was in his hands. It just looked like a handle, until he moved his other hand
so she could see the individual strips of leather fall from inbetween his
fingers. Hermione counted them silently. Nine. She took in a shaky breath, her
eyes darted back up to him. "Don't. Please, Barty."
"After what?" She averted her eyes and bit into her lip. If she told him then a
family would die, she didn't want that to happen. "Fine."
As she wasn't looking at him she only heard the whistle as the whip went
through the air just before it striked her skin. It landed across her stomach,
the strikes horizontal. She screamed, feeling each individual 'tail' dig into
her flesh before it was retracted with a flick of his wrist. Blood was running
freely down her torso in small rivlets as she held back a whimper in her
throat.
"All you have to do to stop it is finish what you were going to say." She
released the whimper from her throat but otherwise kept her mouth closed. The
next strike came barely a second after, the same area, this time vertical so it
cut over the previous wounds. She screamed again, feeling her knees start to
buckle beneath her she pushed against the ground to stay standing remembering
what he had said about there being consequences if she were to fall.
Biting at her lips she tried to keep her mouth shut only to scream with each
strike that followed. After the sixth one her legs were trembling beneath her,
more than threatening to collapse. She extended her fingers to wrap around the
chains above her to help keep herself up.
When she wasn't striked within the usual second she glanced towards Barty even
though she had been trying not to. He was tapping the handle slightly, eyes
flickering over her body. She took in a breath, hoping he was going to stop
now. When his eyes met hers though he smiled before lashing out with the whip
again.
Her eyes went wide when it made contact with unmarked skin, the new cuts
stinging when he pulled the whip back. Her grip on the chains had loosened and
she was gasping for air between the small whimpers she kept letting out unable
to control herself from making the sounds anymore. The whip fell across her
chest again unleashing another scream from her as her hands let go of the
chains and her legs fell beneath her so she was dangling from her wrists once
more.
She could clearly see the disapproving look in Barty's eyes and started to
struggle to get back up. Hermione barely got herself up a few inches before she
fell back towards the ground, the manacles around her wrists digging into the
skin again and again from her actions. Her breath was becoming frantic and she
worked her fingers up to the chains, curling them around as she pushed herself
up. She managed to get herself up a few extra inches before she fell back again
to let out a whimper. Raising her head she looked back to him trying to ignore
the warm feeling of blood running over her skin. She watched as he took a
single step forward her breath hitching when he raised the whip again. Turning
her head and closing her eyes she only listened to it's path through the air
before feeling it.
Her scream ripped through the air but she hardly moved, the chains making
minimal noise above her now that they were stretched to hold her up. Each
strike felt like fire racing across her flesh before it was dragged away again
only to criss-cross over those same scars seconds later. He kept switching the
areas that were striked randomly. Not that it would matter even if she could
predict where he was going to hit next.
Her throat was raw from screaming so much that she had fallen back to just
whimpering for now because it hurt to much to scream. Well, she thought it had.
The whip landed on her shoulder and she screamed a single word, "Recruiting!"
The whip that had been moving back to strike again stopped immediately. "What?"
He sounded outraged and she let out another whimper. There was a dull thump as
the whip hit the ground from when he dropped it. She could hear him moving the
last few steps toward her and felt his hands on her face again, fingers
brushing across her tear-stained skin. "Who did he recruit? Tell me, Hermione
and I'll make all the pain go away."
If she could have slapped her hand to her mouth she would have, as it was she
just stared at the cold hard stone floor beneath her. Slowly she raised her
head at the prospect of the stinging along her skin and the fresh blood that
came from her shoulder wound running down her arm stopping. "Promise?" she
murmured, feeling fresh tears running down her face.
His fingers were quick to wipe them from her skin. "Yes. Who?"
She bit at her lip but the sob still escaped her. "The Walgonn's, a half-blood
family." Blinking more tears ran down her face. "Please, Barty, please make it
stop." she murmured just before her vision went black.
***** Chapter 8 *****
The first thing she was aware of when she woke up was that she felt warm,
mostly anyways. Something cold was pressed to her forehead.
It took her a moment but she opened her eyes slowly as she remembered what had
happened before she blacked out. The name marked into her skin, the numerous
cuts running along the front of her body. Her breath got heavy as she recalled
what she had said to stop it.
A whimper passed through her lips, already feeling her eyes growing hot as
fresh tears gathered there. Her body shivered and she felt rather cold now. She
had condemed the whole family to death. She wasn't entirely sure when their
deaths would take place since Barty had to stay in the house, it was the simple
fact that they were going to die because of her that made the first tear fall.
Hermione didn't bother to hold back her sobs as her whole body shook with the
realization of what she had done. All because the pain had gotten to be to
much. Her cheeks quickly grew hot as she cried. She should have been able to
take more of it until he gave up. If he would have given up, she wasn't sure he
would have. Most likely she would have been pushed even further through
whatever torture means he deemed necessary.
She should have just told him that Remus had seen an object rather than give up
the family. It had just fallen from her lips though and she hadn't been able to
take it back, and he had pressed for the information continously. Information
that was most bloody likely more important than what Remus had saw. She wished
she hadn't ever said what Remus was doing beforehand. That he hadn't asked the
question of how he knew where the meeting was held. She wished she was better
at lying. That-
"Hermione," she shrieked when she heard his voice, to have a hand clamp over
her mouth a moment later. "shhh," her gaze landed on him, sitting barely a foot
away from her. She could have sworn he wasn't there a moment ago. That he
wasn't even in the same room. Her crying must have covered up the sound of his
footsteps, it was the only thing she could think of. It-her gaze landed behind
him. Her eyes quickly widening when she recognized the animal skulls placed
along the top of the drawer. She was in his room. The one he had told her to
leave days ago. She let out a whimper beneath his palm. "quiet." his voice was
soft when he spoke and it made her even more terrified. Nothing good had ever
come with that tone.
Her teeth were drawing into her lip as she tried to quiet herself, not wanting
him to put her though another one of his interogations. Feeling the hand lower
till it was just a single finger pressed to her lips a sob broke out and she
winced at the sound. "Don't." the word slipped out from her lips and her body
tensed a moment later fully expecting to hear the sharp crack of the whip
again.
Instead the hand raised to remove something warm from her forehead and she
followed the movement with her eyes to see what it was. A damp looking cloth
that smelled of sweat when she took in a breath. The whole air around her
seemed to smell of it. It was nauseating. She watched with a shaky breath as he
dropped it into a bucket with a splash, pulling it back up a moment later,
refolding it before resting the cloth back on her forehead. Hermione let out a
sigh of relief when the cool feel of it fell onto her hot skin. "What was it
this time?"
She glanced at him, confusion clear in her gaze and tone when she was able to
shakily ask, "What?" Her voice somehow sounded... wrong in her ears. It took
her a moment but she realized it had sounded the same way with the first word
she had spoken. Thick, heavy in her mouth. Her throat felt constrained and she
swallowed to try and lighten the feel but it just made it feel even more dry.
"You had another nightmare, didn't you?" She could feel his fingers pressing
just above the cloth into her hair, moving slowly against her scalp as she
stared at him, still confused.
Nightmare?
Little fleeting moments of waking up in a similar state suddenly assaulted her
mind. There were foggy and brief but she could still make out little bits.
She was screaming when she opened her eyes, heart pounding in her chest, still
feeling a lash of hot leather across her wrist. Yet when she looked down to her
hand there was no scar on the skin.
Her name being whispered to her repeatedly through her volley of shouts. Ears
having rung from both that and from the feel of them being cut off her skin.
Though they were still connected to her, whole. A voice kept reasurring her of
that fact.
Shaking like mad in a cool winter breeze that didn't yet exist as it was still
fall. Calling out for Barty. The feel of a thick woolen blanket falling over
her body.
Legs kicking beneath the sheets, running away from an invisible enemy. The skin
at the bottom of her feet feeling cracked and bleeding from numerous sharp
rocks. Muttering about escaping from some place until she fell back into
oblivion.
A small gasp escaped her from the memories, though she quickly recalled his
question. "I-I don't remember." She wasn't entirely sure what had woken her up.
"Go back to sleep." The softness of his voice along with the already heavy feel
of her eyelids was prompting her to do as he said.
Though when he started to get up her hands flung out to grasp at the closest
arm to her. "Stay." The thought of being left alone somehow terrified her at
that moment. It must have shown in her eyes as he sat back down. When his other
hand rose and started to remove her hands from his arm her grip tightened
quickly unsure of what he was doing. "Please, don't leave me in the dark place
Barty." As she said those words she knew what had woken her.
She was cold to the bone. The snow battering at her bare body as she dragged
her feet over ice, just moving forward endlessly. Unable to see because it was
dark, the snow relentlessly pushing her backwards. It made her slip and fall.
Pushing herself up only for it to continue in an endless cycle. Not getting
anywhere. Stuck in a dark cold place.
"You did have another nightmare." It was just a statement.
She nodded her head quickly, still clutching to his arm. "It's cold. Please
don't go." Her voice was getting even scratchier as she spoke, slowly making it
hard for herself to tell what she was saying.
There was a sigh next to her. "Open your mouth." She blinked before reluctantly
opening her mouth in the hope that he wouldn't leave her there if she did.
There was a brush of glass against her lower lip, then leaning against it until
the water within fell into her open mouth, running cold down her throat. As she
swallowed it down it got rid of the dry feeling though she moved her head
slightly because of the cold feel of it until it was moved away, the contents
most likely all gone. "Now go back to sleep."
"Are you going to leave?" Her grip on his arm had tightened even further,
reluctant to let go.
"No. I'll be right here in this room."
That did reassure her somewhat but... "Stay with me. Not just the room." Seeing
him about to speak again she quickly added. "Please. Please Barty." A tear
slipped from her eye at the thought of being in that place again, all alone,
wandering yet not getting anywhere, unsure of where she was going in the first
place. It was like she had been going around in circles.
"Okay." This time when he went to remove her hands from his arm she complied. A
slight panic in her chest when he got up only for it to go away when he simply
went around to settle in the bed beside her. She turned on her side hands
reaching out to clutch at his shirt as she buried her head into his chest.
Feeling an arm drape over her body she relaxed, her eyelids dropping shortly
after and she was asleep once more.
When she opened her eyes in what felt like barely a minute since she last
closed them her body had curled in on itself. She was now lying on the opposite
side of the bed soaking up the warmth of a body that had previously been there
but was now absent. Looking slowly around the room she caught sight of him
standing over a desk she had failed to notice before. There was no chair in
sight, explaining why he was standing.
He was flipping through the pages of a book and she watched for awhile
mesmerized by the simple turning of the pages. The flutter of sound the paper
made.
When it suddenly stopped her gaze moved up to see he was looking back at her
instead of the book now. "Hermione, you need to sleep or you won't get better."
"Get better." she repeated softly her gaze landing back on the book infront of
him. "Get better from what?" She found herself wondering what he was reading as
she couldn't make out any of the words from where she was.
"I've told you before, you're sick."
"Sick." She tried the word out on her tongue. "Sie-k. Sight. Sickle." A giggle
passed from her lips. "How does one get a sickle?" It took her a moment to
register that he had moved over to her as her gaze had landed on a cat's skull
that was staring back at her. "Where's kitty's fur?"
"Do you need help sleeping again, Hermione?"
"The kitty-"
"Hermione." He was suddenly blocking her sight of it, standing directly infront
of her, or rather crouched beside the bed. She gave a little smile at the word
she had just thought up. "I need you to go back-"
"I told my mum about you." she interupted him, reaching out a hand to press a
finger to his jaw.
"Pardon?"
"A day. Sunny day. Yesterday. Some day. Sundae with sprinkles on top." She
released another giggle as her finger traced up. "Rough. Sounds like a dog's
bark." Her hand went to move up further when a hand clamped around her wrist.
She glanced from the stubble on his chin and up to his eyes. "I told her you
were a snake. Are you a snake? Did you eat kitty's fur?"
"No, now go back to sleep. The fever is making you delusional. I need you to
sleep, can you do that for me?"
"But I'm not!" She protested only to have a finger be pressed to her lips and
she formed a pout a moment later. "It's not. I told her, I did." she mumbled
against his skin.
"Yes, you told her. You told me you told her. Go to sleep Hermione, please."
"Pretty please? Because I'm pretty, and dainty." She opened her mouth just
slightly more to touch her tongue against the finger that still hadn't moved
from near her mouth. It retracted quickly and she frowned reaching out a hand
to try and grab his finger to bring it back to her. "Mine."
"Stop it." Her hand froze in midair and she stared at him for a moment, having
been startled by the sudden coldness in his tone. Moving her hand back she
curled it beneath her lower lip staring at him. A small whimper rose from the
back of her throat and she gave a little sniff when he leaned closer to her.
His hand closed around hers moving it down and away from her bottom lip.
Another one came and pushed at her lightly causing her to scramble backward on
the bed until he gave a sharp tug on her wrist and she whimpered again. "Stay
right here, got it? Just nod your head." She had started to part her lips to
answer him but pressed them together, frowning at him. When he just kept
looking at her without saying anything about the glare he was recieving she
gave a small nod. "Good. Now close your eyes."
"I don't wanna sle-"
There was a sharp sound in the air from when his hand striked across her face,
effectively silencing her. "You're going to wether you like it or not. I can
force you to take a sleeping drought or you can just close your eyes and sleep
yourself. Which is it going to be?"
"You're not charming. You're manipulative." she muttered with a whimper.
"Drought then." Soon there was a vial being pressed to her lips and she started
to twist and turn her head only to have a hand press to her forehead to keep
her still. Fingers pried open her mouth until a liquid was dribbling inside.
She tried to spit it out but the hand at her mouth just closed her lips,
clamping around her mouth until she was forced to swallow. Her struggling
subsided as her vision went fuzzy watching as his form slipped away from the
bedside and went back to the desk.
There was a whimper caught in her throat, fluttering about like a bird in a
cage. Wings battering at the bars that didn't relent. She tried to open her
mouth but it was as if it wasn't responding to her. A strangled noise was
coming from her as she raised her hands to her throat.
Tried to. There was a preassure suddenly on both her wrists, forcing the hands
next to eachother and to stay pinned down. "Calm down, Hermione." Another
strangled noise came from her as she tried to wriggle her hands out from under
his. She needed to break the lock on her throat to-There was a clang, the feel
of metal around her wrists, her arms having been tugged up so they were above
her head, resting on the top of the pillow. She twisted her head trying to
crawl towards her twitching fingers.
An arm locked around her body though, keeping her in place. She released a sort
of snarl in the back of her throat while arching her neck. Her fingers turned
even more desperately in their restraints to try and reach it, curling
downwards and making little swiping motions.
"Hermione," a brush of air over her neck made her tilt her head even more at
the very slight preassure it created. She released a small gurgling noise in
the back of her throat and could feel fingers on the skin second later. The
whimper was crawling slowly up her throat with each light brush along her neck
until it was finally released into the air. With the tighteness along her
throat gone she slumped back down onto the cushions she lay ontop of. "There
you go."
For a second she just gazed at the ceiling above her trying to recall what had
closed her throat in the first place. "Barty?" her voice came out slow and she
turned her head to see him lying on his side next to her in his robes.
"Yes?"
She could feel his fingers still on her neck, moving over the skin, applying a
little preassure every once and awhile, tracing random shapes and figures,
massaging the skin. Looking to his eyes she noticed that he wasn't looking back
at her, but rather at her throat. "How come my dreams are never sweet?" she
asked softly, rather liking the expression currently on his face and not
wanting to shatter it.
He issued a sigh. "It seems I was to hard on you, and your wounds were exposed
longer than I had planned. Your fever is finally coming down though, so you
shouldn't be getting anymore nightmares like before."
"Fever?" she questioned.
"From your body fighting off the illness." She was on the verge of telling him
she knew what a fever did when he continued, "You mentioned telling your mum
about me. What sort of nightmare was that?"
Hermione was silent for a moment as she remembered what had happened back at
her house, it all pretty much slammed back on her when she focused and she let
out an exhale of surprise from it all. "That... it wasn't a nightmare." she
spoke slowly as her gaze moved back to the ceiling, not even sure if she was
awake now. It felt to surreal. That he wasn't glaring at her or yelling. Like a
small piece of tranquility. "I went to my-their house," she corrected herself.
"to tell them about the law rather than just mail the article from the Daily
Prophet. Doing that would have just made them worry, among other things. My
father was away on buisness so it was just my mum and me. She... overreacted
when I tried to explain the law to her. Before that though, she asked who I got
and what House you were in. I just said some things about you in general rather
than by name; your talent in spell-casting, loyalty, little things like that.
That you were in Slytherin."
She fell silent for a moment as a thought occured to her. "I arranged a... ruse
of sorts with Blaise Zabini. His partner-from what I can tell-seems to not want
to have it announced that they're engaged yet. So we agreed to be a sort of
cover up for each other." A finger along her neck seemed to slow suddenly and
she hurried to explain. "It's just... I... we..." she was finding it hard to
come up with something until a finger was pressed to her lips.
"It's fine." Hearing the creak of the bed she turned her head to see him
getting up from the bed.
"Barty-"
"Get some sleep Hermione." She blinked in confusion as she watched him head for
the door and opened her mouth to ask where he was going only to stop when she
thought she heard him say something. It was so soft she was sure she had
imagined it. "I was in Ravenclaw." The door closed a moment later and she was
sure it was just her head messing with her as her vision went fuzzy. She tipped
her head back on the pillow wondering for a moment if she was having one of
those dreams within a dream, if the fever could do something like that.
It felt like only an hour had passed when she opened her eyes to glance around
the room expecting to see him somewhere yet after sweeping the place ten times
she just sighed. As she went to settle her head back onto the pillow she
stopped, her eyes glancing down.
She didn't know what she had expected; bandages wrapped around her torso maybe,
scars barely healed over, traces of blood on the skin. What she was sure of was
that she hadn't expected to see her skin looking... normal. Like it would be on
any other day before the torture.
There wasn't a single mark on her, it looked as if the other day had never
happened though she knew that wasn't true. She might have been a bit paler than
before but that didn't really surprise her as she had been bedridden for
however long. It couldn't have been to long though, she remembered waking up a
lot of times, just not all the details that went with each of them. No trace of
blood was on her skin either, even when she looked down at her legs she didn't
find anything.
It took her a moment to realize that there wasn't a blanket anywhere over her
body. Looking around the bed she quickly found a thick woolen blanket off to
the side in a messy sort of rectangular ball shape. She was quickly able to
surmise that she must have kicked it off sometime in her sleep, though she
wondered which time she was asleep that that had happened.
With a sigh she moved her hand up to rest on her forehead to find that the
usual towel she had grown acustomed to finding there was gone and that the skin
wasn't blazing hot beneath her palm. It was just warm, and her hand felt cool
against it. She didn't even feel like she had a fever anymore and suspected it
was gone. It seemed to fast to her but then again with magic a fever wouldn't
be too much to get rid of. He must have used a spell, potion, or combination of
the two to help her body recover faster. She guessed he had used spells to
close her wounds and clean the blood from her skin as well.
It made sense that he would anyway. It would be weird if she showed up sick at
school after telling her friends she was spending the weekend with Blaise. They
probably would have questioned him about it as well, and he wouldn't be able to
answer or rather he would have been forced to come up with something. Like
saying she caught some disease or something. Atleast this way both of them
could avoid it, not that he would feel any sense of relief.
Hermione pushed herself up into a sitting position, checking the room once
more, her eyes staying on the skull that looked like that of a cat a second
longer than necessary. Hadn't she had... a dream about that same skull? Shaking
her head she slipped off the side of the bed to stand slowly. Once she was sure
she wasn't going to fall back to the bed she started across the floor, pulling
the door open to walk out into the hall. Feeling a cold draft of air she
wrapped her arms around herself as she walked, gaze flickering to the door that
held chains and whatever other torturing implements were inside.
She swallowed down a nervous laugh that was crawling up her throat at seeing it
and closed her eyes, turning her head away and only opening them again when she
was sure she had passed the door so even if she looked from the corner of her
eye she wouldn't see it. As she turned the corner she heard a light scratching
of a quill on parchment and stopped in her tracks for a moment. If Barty was
writing she probaby shouldn't disturb him. Taking a step forward the wood
beneath her foot creaked causing her to jump slightly at the sudden noise.
After waiting a moment in the silence she started walking again, reaching out a
hand to grab for her door and twisting the knob as she pushed it open, blinking
when the light came on.
When her eyes had adjusted she walked further in stopping short as she realized
she hadn't ever moved clothes here and would be stuck wearing the exact same
thing that she had arrived in. She started to move over to the dresser when she
caught movement in the corner of her eye.
Glancing over to the door she saw Barty standing within the frame a scowl set
into his face. She felt a chill run down her spine from the dark look he was
giving her and quickly tried to come up with a reason for it in her mind, only
able to find one thing. "I didn't mean to-"
He had advanced quickly towards her, a hand wrapping around her throat stopping
her from continuing. She could feel another hand on her waist pushing-or
tugging she wasn't sure-her past the center of the bedroom. The back of her
legs hit the front of the bed and she fell backward when his hand had moved to
the center of her stomach and pushed her down. The hands withdrew a moment
later and she drew in breaths of air to recover, vaguely aware of a rustling
sound as she stared at the ceiling. "Barty?" she finally managed to catch her
breath enough to try and figure out what was going on.
A hand was on her again, gripping at her thigh. With a harsh tug she let out a
squeek as she was dragged forward so that her knee and the upper part of her
legs were no longer on the bed. Hermione began to raise her head, barely
getting an inch off the sheet beneath her when she felt fingers wrap around her
right shoulder, to see him looming over her, his lips twisted into a smirk.
"Shut up, Hermione." His fingers twisted into her shoulder making her gasp then
wince when she saw his eyes narrow.
Seeing that look she didn't really need to ask what was about to happen
anymore. It was becoming clear to her what his intentions were, though she
couldn't make any sense of it. "We-" She released another sharp gasp when she
felt his hand strike her cheek. Tears stung at her eyes from the contact but
she pressed on regardless. "We already did that this week."
"I thought you said you wanted to read the 'fine print?' Your know-it-all
attitude is slipping Hermione." She narrowed her eyes the moment she heard the
words 'know-it-all,' she hated being called that. The moment she parted her
lips a hand clamped down over her mouth before she could get a word out to try
and insult him for having said that. "Do I have to inform you of everything?"
He paused but with her mouth covered she was unable to answer and only managed
to glare at him. "They don't count the night of the marriage as part of the
week."
Her eyes widened as her blood seemed to run cold all of the sudden. The hand
over her lips was retracted and a whimper passed through them at just
remembering what it had felt like the last time. Or rather the first time that
she wished was the last time since she couldn't just completely forget what had
happened. She found herself wondering if he had chains hidden somewhere in her
own room and started to wriggle beneath him, to throw him off.
The hand on her shoulder just pushed harder at her, while the one on her thigh
slipped up to grab and hold her down by the waist. The only part of her she
found she could move in this position was her upper body and even then it
wasn't by much. From the way his eyes lowered from her face to her breasts it
probably wasn't the smartest thing she could have done. "Are you..." his eyes
raised slowly back to her own sending a small wave of relief through her that
she now had his attention away from that particular body part. "are you going
to chain me again?"
His answering chuckle just made her stiffen beneath him. "Only if you try to
get away again, or are you asking because you want to be chained again?" The
way he was grinning down at her suddenly made her heart leap into her throat.
She didn't think she could come up with a single thing from any horror novel-or
movie-that was more scary in that moment. "No?"
At the prompting she scowled. "No." Hermione snapped hoping her glare would cut
through him so she didn't have to deal with this. Try to anyways.
His hand had left her shoulder and she could feel fingers wrap around her chin
the moment the word left her lips. "Then I would suggest you stay still."
Pressure was suddenly applied along her waist and her body jerked from the
shock of pain that bloomed out from the spot. Taking advantage of her
concentration being broken she felt him slip into her and she yelled in anger.
She bucked her hips barely a second later, freezing when he groaned above her.
Her breath was coming faster now and she wondered for a moment why it didn't
hurt quite as much as before. His fiingers digging into her shoulder quickly
changed that thought. The way he pounded into her continuosly without
hesitation made her gasp in pain each time.
When he suddenly picked up speed she curled her hand into a fist and hit him
right in the chest. Even then he didn't stop, instead he-he... laughed. She
whimpered as the hand on her shoulder moved to press on her neck. His head bent
down and she let loose a scream the moment his teeth touched her skin, just
before it sank into the soft flesh of her breast only for her to scream again a
moment later.
Raising both hands now that the one was no longer constrained she beat at his
sides, her actions faltering with each swipe of his tongue over the bite mark.
"St-op." A piercing cry filled the air between the word when his hand struck
her cheek.
Her head lolled to the side and her hits subsided as she drew in quick sharp
breaths. "Don't tell me what I can and can not do." Hermione's breath hitched
as his hand was still on her face, a single finger moving over the skin. A part
of her mind wondered if she had somehow hit a nerve for him to strike her like
that in this moment. It slowly creeped into her mind that he had stilled and...
her skin crawled just from the fact that it had happened again.
She was about to open her mouth, to snap at him to get off her when she felt
that his finger was pressed to her lip. His eyes were narrowed as he gazed down
at her and she felt her throat tighten as her skin ran cold from that look.
When his finger applied a little pressure it easily slid past her lips into her
mouth. She didn't dare move as he drew it out a second later, moving the saliva
he had collected along her lips to stop and tap at the side of her mouth.
"Don't speak next time, or else."
Her eyes widened, immediately understanding his threat. His hand moved away
first and then he was no longer in her vision yet she could hear him walking
across the room and out the door.
Hermione stayed on the edge of her bed, splaying her hands out next to her and
gripping at the sheets as she tugged herself fully back onto the blanket. She
didn't move any further than that, she just laid there trembling above the
covers trying to stop the rush of images coming to her head. Images that her
life would be like this forever.
***** Chapter 9 *****
Chapter Notes
     I feel I should warn about the awful language in this chapter... so
     there you go.
She was curled up on her side, staring at her reflection in the vanity mirror
though she didn't see herself. Instead there was a figure standing above her, a
cruel smile playing out as it laughed at her. A set of concerned eyes, his
voice whispering softly in her ear. From the surface a hand reached out to run
over her skin.
Hermione raised her own hand slowly, touching at the scar on her neck, mimicing
his actions from before. From when he was massaging her neck and speaking in
soft tones.
Well, she thought he had. With everything that was happening she kept thinking
it had all been a dream, a hallucination. Something she had dreamed up while
sick, to try and make him more human, less of a monster.
Yet it had felt so real at the time.
A ghost of air rushing over the skin with each breath he took, that serene look
in his eyes as he stared at her neck. She had actually been content then,
looking back at him, hands cuffed above her. The conversation had even been
pleasant, lifting a sort of weight off her shoulders when she told him what had
happened at her house, about the scheme she had set up with Blaise.
She swallowed self-consciously. Mentioning that seemed to have broken it,
almost as soon as the words were past her lips he was out the door. Even though
she had wanted him to stay. She wasn't even sure why she would want that.
Especially with how he treated her when... when she wasn't sick. Hermione
didn't want to believe that any of the times she woke up were true, though she
knew each one was.
Her cheeks felt hot as she remembered talking about a cat skull, which she had
dubbed 'kitty' in her deluded state. They only warmed further when she recalled
grabbing at his finger, the same one he had used to threatened her with. The
same one she had been voluntarily trying to stick in her mouth. Is that why he
had done that? That taste still lingered in her mouth, of his skin, warm, we-
She shot up from the bed with a gasp, arms curling quickly around her legs. Do
not finish that sentance. It was a mantra she repeated again and again. It
wasn't helping.
Scrambling up and off the bed she hurried to the shower, twisting the knob to
hot and she stepped right under the water that practically burned at her skin.
Steam quickly filling up the bathroom to unfurl in her bedroom when it slipped
past the doorway. Parting her lips she let the water run over her, scalding,
making it all go away.
Make it go away. Make all the pain go away.
She shivered, her body trembling as the memory of the whip stinging across her
skin lanced through her mind. Her knees shook and she fell to the tile, tears
quickly falling down her face, whimpers crawling up her throat.
It seemed forever that she was laying there, yet the water was still hot when
it was turned off. Fingers wrapping around her arm, being urged to get up, and
when she didn't arms wrapped around her, lifting her up out of the bathroom
into her own to be set on her bed. She only cried harder when she felt the
familiar fabric beneath her skin again, painfully aware of his presence next to
her.
Her face seemed to grow cold when his hand rested on her cheek, the warmth of
her tears seeming to quickly vanish beneath the palm. "Hermione, you have
school in a few hours, you need to change into your robes."
For a moment she stilled at the words. School. It was like a blessing on the
wind, the oppurtunity to get out of here and away from this place. Before she
had to come back again that is... in just five days. She made a small pained
noise in the back of her throat, her eyes feeling hot again. Come back here? To
this piece of hell? And she had thought having only to be here for two days
would make it easier than the three that would have been demanded of her had
she been out of school.
Having to survive another two days after this week... and another after that.
She wasn't even sure if she had survived this weekend, and if she had she
wasn't sure how. If it could even be qualified as such.
The sting of her flesh was still fresh in her mind and it had haunted her later
the other night. Nevermind the nightmares, it was haunting her now. If she
closed her eyes-and she did-she could feel the blood running down her chest,
slithering down her legs, curving off her skin to hit the stone beneath. Each
little drip louder than the last till it was like a thunderstorm raging around
her.
With effort she opened her eyes, turning slowly to look Barty in the eye, lips
parting for her voice to come out shaking, "I hate you." she murmured. It felt
good, just saying it. Saying those words to him. This monster sitting infront
of her who kept touching at her face even as fresh tears ran down her cheeks.
Kept touching her as if he was allowed to, and of course he thought he could.
Because they were married, because to him she was just his tight young cunt
that he could fuck whenever he wanted. It was almost surprising that he didn't
do it more since he obviously enjoyed it the first two times. The law only
required a minimum after all, there was nothing about trying more often, and
they would probably like that. So they could have more witches and wizards.
While in the meantime she was used and beaten.
Her skin prickled. It was so unfair, unjustified that she be treated this way.
He should be in Azkaban surrounded by Dementors forever taking happy memories
from him. Taking the memories of her beneath him, struggling as he laughed. Of
her beaten and bloody body hanging from the chains. All of them should be taken
away from him, then she can forget her own and act as if nothing ever happened.
They should handcuff him since he seemed to like the things so much. He should
be suffering, not her. He should be dead.
For everything he had done, whatever deeds she didn't know of that had happened
in the first war. For trapping Alastor Moody and taking his place. For tricking
Harry, making her friend actually trust the person masquerading as a Professor,
setting him up to win that damned tournament. For putting his name in the
Goblet in the first place. For bringing Voldemort back.
It was a wonder he wasn't broken out the same time as the other Death Eaters.
She remembered the Prophet actually mentioning that he had been sent to one of
the most secure cells in the prison. Underguard not by the Dementors but actual
wizards, ones that knew how to deal with dark magic. Not necessarily aurors,
but live trusted guards to make sure he never got out of Azkaban again. It
should have been impossible for him to get out and here he was. No guards in
sight.
Not even rotting in the ground.
Her shaking limbs steadied for a moment. She forgot about her wand locked away
to keep her from doing magic the moment she thought about it. Just slipping
away... she didn't need it to deal with him. Someone less than human, far less
than any wizard, with no purpose but to cause destruction and pain to others.
To her in particular it seemed as he hadn't been out of Azkaban for very long.
It was as if he had been let out to torture her. Made sense.
Orders from the top to torture the girl that was friends with the boy-who-
lived. All because he wasn't able to kill him back in fourth year. As if he
would get a second chance.
She could see Harry's body on the floor in the dream again, a wand pointed
down, torturing him... That couldn't happen. She couldn't let it happen.
He needed to be locked up in Azkaban again. But the Ministry wasn't going to do
that. They weren't about to do anything.
Her nails were biting into her skin, the fingers curled against the palm of her
hand, and then it was no longer at her side. Her fist struck him right in the
jaw and she felt a rush of satisfaction from the surprised look in his eyes.
Turning quickly, she had her legs on either side of him just before she hit him
in the shoulder, pushing hard so he was on his back for once instead of her.
"I fucking hate you!" She screamed as she flew into a rage, hitting him over
and over again with fists, the palm of her hand, occasionaly slicing at his
skin with her nails. Each time she got the mark though she didn't care at how
easy it was. Didn't care about the blood staining her hands or the sheets
beneath them that turned a slightly deeper shade when little specks hit it.
Didn't matter because in her mind the blanket was a sea of blood. A sea of his
blood.
"You bloody monster." Hermione snarled. "You should be locked up in Azkaban
with the Dementors!" To puncuate her yell of frustration she hit him again.
"How the hell did you get out anyways? Why aren't you locked up? Why do you
have to torture me!" The blood in her own veins was pounding, whole body
quivering in anger. Her life shouldn't have made this turn. His shouldn't have-
"Why don't you bloody answer me!"
Looking down into his eyes, at the bruise forming near his left eye, a line of
blood on his right cheek, the already dark purple-blue of his jaw, she didn't
find an answer. She clentched her teeth. He was ignoring her now was he?
"I answered your questions, now you answer mine!" It would only be fair. Then
again, what Death Eater would be fair? Actually play by the rules? None if she
was any judge.
Especially him. Least of all him. "I'll have you locked in Azkaban for what
you've done to me! I don't care how long it takes! How many days, months, or
years until you are back where you belong! You'll suffer for this!" She paused
when she finally saw some movement beneath her. It hadn't been much, just the
corner of his mouth had seemed to twist for a moment. She leaned closer, trying
to catch it again but he wasn't moving. Her lip curled. He was pissing her off.
Hermione swung her hands down, each one going to rest on the bed on either side
of his head as she leaned forward, glaring down at him. She could have sworn
that smoke was coming out from her mouth as her whole body seemed to burn from
the rage within her. "I'll walk you to the cell myself if that's what it
takes." She hissed. As if to confirm it, to know for a fact that it would
happen she said so. "You'll be back in your cell, with more guards than you can
count, a Dementor always behind the wall, and this time you'll stay there,
because that's where you should be. Instead of here with me."
"I know."
She jerked her head back when he spoke, face no longer hovering mere inches
from his own. Besides moving his mouth to speak he didn't do anything else. He
was still just looking at her, not moving. He hadn't moved when she had hit him
either, not even to block a punch...
With a gasp she scrambled back, her knees bumping against his clothed legs as
she pushed frantically at the bed with her hands to get away from him. She
yelped when she fell of the bed, legs crumbling beneath her, bare bum hitting
the wood floor. Not even sparing a thought for how ridiculous she must look she
pushed herself up quickly from the floor, running out the door into the hall,
only taking a spare second to grab her clothes that had been neatly stacked
from on top of the drawer.
Hermione only stopped her desperate run in the living room and that was only
because she had to get into her clothes first. Randomly showing up in the
Gryfindor Commons naked was not on her bucket list.
It took her a moment to catch her breath as her whole body shook though the
adrenaline from before was gone and she felt deathly cold. Looking through her
clothes she located her knickers first then got to each individual article
afterwards, trying to rid herself of the feeling.
The fact was she had been vulnerable in that room, her room. She really
shouldn't have done that. He could have hit her, could have done a million
things to her. The little fact that he hadn't terrified her. Most people would
have retaliated instantly. Yes, he seemed surprised by her actions but he was a
Death Eater, had been in a war before and survived. One of the ways to survive
was have quicker reflexes than your opponent, better skill, among all the other
factors. Sometimes just plain old luck even.
Still. She shouldn't have been able to do that. She-gasped, her hand flew to
her mouth, covering it and she slid down the wall she had been leaning against
shirt still partly open as her fingers stopped working on the buttons. He had
let her.
Why? It was the first question that popped into her mind but she shoved it down
quickly. Even if she asked he wouldn't answer, he had already demonstrated that
he was better at keeping secrets than her. Truth was it didn't really matter
right now. It was therepercussion she needed to be worrying about. With him
there always seemed to be a consequence, whether she did as told or not.
Lowering her hand she went back to work on the shirt trying not to think about
what would happen here on her next visit. Already dreading it and punching
herself mentally for having made such a stupid rash decision.
Hermione was still taking in quick breaths of air, her fingers trembling above
the buttons when she felt his slip around her wrist. Her whole body froze,
breath faltering at the contact and she kept her eyes lowered, staring at the
grains of wood in the floor boards.
"Can't look me in the eyes anymore?" When she didn't move he addressed her
again. "Hermione, it's impolite to not look at someone when they're speaking to
you." With a whimper caught in her throat she slowly raised her head, glancing
at him from the corner of her eye while her heart hammered away in her chest.
"Just turn your head a bit more." The whimper slipped past her lips and she
turned her head to look at him. The bruises that had been forming before, the
scar she had inflicted, they were all gone. "Better. Now if you could manage it
next time without looking like a scared rabbit."
His words just sent her body shaking harder and she fought to keep her eyes on
him rather than look away like she so desperately wanted to. She practically
jumped when his fingers left her wrist, going past her hand to button up her
shirt the rest of the way. Pausing only once to press at her covered breast,
right where he had bitten her before causing her to gasp when pain rushed from
the spot. Her voice trembled when she spoke, "I'm not scared."
"Really?" he questioned while his fingers deftly got done with the last button.
"Because you look scared to me." She could feel her body freeze up once again
when his fingers trailed further up, brushing up her neck before grasping at
her chin. "Tell me Hermione, what are you scared of?"
She barely had to think it over. "You."
She winced at his chuckle. "Me? You didn't seem very scared of me a moment
ago." The grip on her chin tightened and she could sense the threat it held.
She bit at her lip as to not break eye contact. His smirk had slipped into a
frown, perhaps disapointed that she hadn't fallen for his trick so he could use
it as an excuse to hit her. "I help you get back to good health and in return
you try to beat me bloody. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Sucking in a breath when his grip tightened further she opened her mouth-
barely-to answer. "You tortured and raped me. It's only fair that you get an
injury for it, even if you heal it instantly." This time she managed to stop
her voice from shaking.
His other hand raised and she fought the urge to shrink away as a finger
touched her cheek. "I also healed your wounds. You and me both know that the
torture wouldn't have been necessary if you had just answered my questions in
the first place." The finger was dragged up her skin, stopping at the corner of
her eye.
Not able to stop herself anymore she leaned back to rest her head against the
wall just to put some distance between them. For a moment she just stared at
him, breath coming fast, her mind racing to something he had said back on
Friday. "You're not trying." When he gave her a questioning look she went on,
"To make this work. You're just using me, for your own pleasure and to help the
Death Eaters. That's not how a marriage works."
For a moment he seemed to just be looking at her, studying her. His hand that
had previously been near her eye was lowered and ended up resting on her thigh.
The other hand let go of her chin, instead pressing his finger to her throat in
the space right between her collar bone. It was when his lips slowly twisted
into a smile when her heart started to beat erratically in her chest. "Are you
willing to be honest now?" Her eyes darted away, immediately knowing what he
was getting at but not willing to respond. "It's just a basic thing needed for
any relationship to work."  She bit at her lip, ignoring his words and just
closed her eyes as if that would help block it out. "What was it Remus saw?"
She blinked. The question had changed. "How do you kn-" She snapped her jaw
shut a second later, staring at him as he smirked at her. Bloody hell. The
manipulative bastard. She really hated him.
"So," his hand squeezed at her thigh and she winced. "he did see something."
The grip on her relaxed once again. "We're finally getting somewhere. Now to be
completely honest you just need to tell me what it was." She tried to keep a
steady glare on him even as she felt his hand moving to her inner thigh,
fingers going up before dipping in her waistline. It was when he pinched the
skin that she broke it off with a yelp, eyes closing, body giving a little jerk
from the sudden pain. "Well?" he asked while his hand slipped back out.
She just shook her head not trusting herself to speak after what happened last
time.
He issued a sigh. "Right when I thought we were just starting to get along."
She highly doubted that's where his mind was when he kept touching her like how
he was now. "There's always next time." Her eyes snapped open to stare at him,
dread passing over her at just the idea of going through anything like this
again. "You should think about cooperating, Hermione." When he leaned in she
pressed harder against the wall to try and get away though it accomplished
nothing. He only spoke again when his lips were right next to her ear. "You
could enjoy it."
With a gasp she brought her hands up and pushed him away, aware in the corner
of her mind that she was only able to get him off her because he backed off.
"Never." she hissed and stood up quickly walking straight past him to get her
wand from the bench. Without even turning to look at him she moved into the
fireplace, yelling out her destination in anger.
                                     / / /
The classroom was buzzing from all the whispering going around even though it
was still a few minutes until the Proffessor was to walk inside. Blaise ignored
most of the conversations as they were just idle chatter, gossipers and the
like. The only one remotely interesting was between  Weasely and Potter, only
because they were talking about his 'match'.
"Gin says she didn't see Hermione anywhere this morning, along with her
roommates. Nothing about her being there last night either."
"She told us she went to see her parents and then Blaise, she probably went
back to her parent's house for the night and overslept."
"That's not like Hermione though."
"No, it isn't. But her parents are muggles, they're not going to be as
accepting of this law as yours. Having to explain that you've been matched by
some ancient ritual and getting married in four months to them would be
exhausting."
"Why wouldn't her parents accept it?"
"Just because your brothers were matched with the girls they were going out
with doesn't mean it's the same for everyone else. They got lucky. Hermione
never dated Blaise. She's just lucky not to have gotten matched with some old
geezer."
"He's still a Slytherin." Ron lowering his voice made Blaise just concentrate
harder on the conversation to catch the words.
"Yeah, but it's like your mom said. If he were to try anything with Hermione
she would take him down a peg or two. Why are you being so worried anyways?"
When there was a pause in the flow Blaise turned his head to meet Potter's eyes
before the other boy looked away. "He's here in class with us. Whatever the
reason for her running late would have to do with her parents, they're the only
other people she went to see over the weekend."
That wasn't actually true. Blaise knew that but he wouldn't say anything. Him
and Hermione had made a contract of sorts when it came to their matches. He may
not know why she didn't want to divulge hers-though since she had mentioned
being away every weekend he could easily deduct that whoever she was matched
with was either older or in a different school. The details weren't of any
interest to him. They had agreed not to talk about the other's circumstance.
It was a little odd though. Not seeing her in the class already, her being late
after her first weekend away. Either her and her match were hitting it off or
she was ripping into him, figuratively speaking of course.
The only problem he could see coming from this little exchange was if she
didn't get here quick enough and the Professor asked him where she was since
the rumor that they were matched together was now out in the open. He supposed
he could just say she was with her parents but if they asked for details he
would have to start making things up. Again, he doubted they would but he would
rather not have to deal with it.
Blam!
Everyone turned quickly when the door was swung open so hard. Since they
weren't in Defense Against the Dark Arts the sudden noise wasn't expected. It
left the room silent when Hermione ran into the room in a flurry of steps,
managing to look both vexed and flustered at the time.  She was tugging at her
sleeves, rolling them back down and he could noticed water tinged pink sliding
down her wrist before it was covered by the robe. In her other hand was her
tie, which she was now fitting into her uniform as she sat down in a chair next
to her friends.
This time when Weasely spoke everyone could hear him, "Where have you been?"
"Parents." The reply was rather snappy even for Granger.
Potter was giving his friend a look of, 'I told you so,' before turning to
Hermione. By this time most everyone else was going back to their exchange of
words, only a few glancing back at the bushy-haired girl, and then to him he
realized a moment later. He flushed slightly and turned to face the board
again. Well, atleast it would just fuel the belief that they were going out
along with everything else that came with.
There was a puff of air to his right and Blaise turned to glance at Draco.
"Would you like an award for your acting skills?"
"Lower your voice." he said quickly. Draco was the only one he had told about
him and Hermione putting on an act for eachothers benefit besides his own
match.
"It is lowered." Draco purposely raised his voice on the last word though no
one turned to look at them. Who would honestly? All the other students avoided
the Slytherins, as if they would want to get caught up in their 'snake pit' as
the seventh year girls so affectionately called. In his group of friends though
it was just called, 'their fucking buisness that was no one else's damn bloody
buisness'. Pansy had gotten herself tongue tied saying it a handful of times.
Blaise was on the verge of rolling his eyes at having mentioned it in the first
place as it had been a stupid request. "How loud do you think those twins will
scream when they go to get their books from their bags?"
Blaise glanced toward the two Patil girls at the front of the room, fully aware
of the slimy worms charmed to move just waiting in their packs. One of Draco's
less devious plans but it served as its own form of entertainment. "They might
shock Professor Binns to the fact that he's a ghost. If his ears are still
working that is."
Draco chuckled at that. "Would be more surprised if they hadn't fallen off
already." A moment after the comment though Draco was looking back to his desk
looking oddly gloomy even though he wasn't seventeen yet so he didn't have to
deal with the added stress of this new law. He was actually looking rather
thinner these days as well and just plain unhealthy. The reason for his sudden
change in behavior eluded Blaise and was starting to get on his nerves.
Especially since Draco wouldn't talk about what had happened to him over the
summer.
"Raise your head skin-and-bones or you'll miss the show." He said, catching
sight of the first twin leaning over to get her book when the Professor walked
into the room.
"What are you? My mum?" Draco turned his head just in time to see the first
twin scream loudly in fright when the worm slided up her hand and into the
sleeve of her robe to be followed quickly by the other girl screaming. Soon the
Slytherins in the classroom were laughing as they watched the scene unfold. The
Professor hurrying over and telling the two girls to calm down.
This whole calming down process took about three minutes as the girls wriggled
in their chairs screaming things like, "What the bloody hell is that thing? Get
it off me! Get it out of my robes!" One Slytherin actually called out for Padma
to take the robe off. The poor boy got hexed in response the moment the two
girls were rid of the slugs which just sent the whole classroom into a round of
laughter.
"Okay! That's enough!" McGonagall spoke loudly over the snickers filling the
room. "Open your books to page fourty six. You will see me after class." The
Professor looked pointedly at the Slytherin that had made the crude remark
before turning to the board and proceeding with the class.
***** Chapter 10 *****
Bloody Slytherins.
She could still hear the screams of the Patil twins echoing in her ears, how
she had clamped a hand over her own mouth to stop from screaming herself since
the sudden noise had surprised her. Then there was the laughing from the other
side of the room. Her gaze had quickly found Zabini and she had scowled at the
side of his head that hid who she was sure to be the culprit from view. Draco
Malfoy.
Once the class had calmed down and she had assured herself that she wasn't
trapped in some weird nightmare where Barty would randomly show up and start
torturing people-or even her for the millionth time. She lowered her hand from
her mouth earning an odd look from Ron and Harry.
At the time she just told them she was a little jumpy (had she really said that
word? she couldn't remember now) after what had happened to Remus. That seemed
to get the two off her back pretty quickly and a few sympathy looks even. She
could have done without them as they had no reason to pity her. They didn't
know about Barty and the torture he put her through.
That man... she hated him. Enjoy it. He had said it in such a teasing way too,
for a moment it had felt like a normal relationship. Then his breath was too
hot on her ear and she knew she had to get out of there. That and classes had
been starting soon.
She had almost been late because of him holding her hostage against the wall.
Hermione bit at her lip. She had never been late to a class before and then she
had to hurry down the corridors to Transfiguration, having to stop when she
realized his blood was still on her hands. Diving into the girls lavatory that
Mrytle occupied to avoid getting looks and hoping no one had noticed it as she
had run down the halls. Standing infront of a cracked mirror, scrubbing at her
hands then under her nails to get rid of the red liquid. Making it so she was
literally having to run past McGonagall in the hall just so she wasn't late.
If only she had gotten a better match. No. If only this law didn't exist, the
ritual didn't exist. Then she could be having a good day right now. Not that
there was anything in particular wrong with today but she kept thinking about
Barty and how she would end up at his-their-house later that week. It wasn't
something she wanted to be thinking about.
That's why she was scanning over titles of books in the library currently. To
get away from those thoughts and lose herself to the world of knowledge or
history. Either would work just fine as long as it got him out of her mind.
"-it's Episkey." Turning her head she watched as a seventh year pronounced the
spell for a younger Ravenclaw student, by the looks of it a third year.
"Ep-skiie."
"Eh-pi-skie." The older student said it in parts this time, putting special
emphasis on each word.
"Ehp-skiee."
There was a sigh. "You're forgetting the middle part. Better though. Let's try
again."
Hermione frowned slightly as she watched the two continue with their private
study session. Barty had mentioned being a Ravenclaw before. It was weird to
picture him in the blue and bronze colors instead of the green and silver she
would have thought he would be in. Unless that part of the conversation was
something her mind had made up since he had never answered her questions
before. Wouldn't surprise her if that was the case.
"What are you lookin' at?"
She blinked, gaze flickering between the third and seventh year for a moment as
she realized she had spaced out, though they probably thought she was staring.
"Sorry." Hermione had begun to turn away before she stopped in her tracks,
turning slightly to look back at them. She could confirm it right now, straight
out facts were a lot more reliable than people that didn't answer her
questions. "The yearbooks for Ravenclaw are in your commons, right?"
"Yeah." The third year said with a scowl. "That's how it is for all the Houses,
how stupi-"
"Elaine, you have a spell to be working on remember? Unless you want to be
called worse you should learn how to pronunciate words. Get to it." The seventh
year had cut the girl off though Hermione was still surprised. She had never
heard a Ravenclaw talk like that before. "Follow me." She just gave a nod,
walking away from the table with the seventh year student and through the
library back to the hallway. "What do you need our yearkbooks for?"
"I only need one, from around seventeen years ago." She began, unsure exactly
how much to say about it. The last thing she needed was rumors about her going
around digging into Barty's history here at Hogwarts but it was the only way
she could confirm that Ravenclaw was the House he had been in without asking
him herself. "Heard a rumor about a past student and I just want to confirm
it." That seemed a good enough excuse.
The other student was silent as they walked through the halls and up the moving
staircases only to stop at a corner that she knew if they went around would
then be infront of the hidden entry to Ravenclaw. "Stay here." Hermione just
nodded and leaned against the wall as she waited for the seventh year to come
back.
A few minutes passed before she heard footsteps and he came back around the
corner, handing off a single yearbook to her from the timeframe she had
requested. "Thank you."  Hermione said as she took the book from his hands and
opened it, immediately flipping through the pages.
"No problem."
She didn't say anything as he leaned up against the wall next to her, focusing
on the book, searching for the seventh year students and then going over last
names. She found him on the fifth page for that year. A younger version of
Barty looking up at her, eyes just as cold that first time she met him. She
came close to just shutting the book and handing it off to the student next to
her but reined the emotion in. Her eyes scanning over the page.
An Outstanding for all OWLs, all classes of the NEWT level. It was what one
would expect of any Ravenclaw, with perfect scores across the board. She had
told her mother he was good in magic as well as a good student. It made her
feel better having this sort of proof infront of her. That she hadn't had to
lie about it. Though she had mentioned being married... She suspected she would
pay for that later unless she came up with a good excuse. Putting a reminder in
the back of her mind to think something up she ran her finger along the bottom
of the page.
Besides looking as cold hearted as he was now he looked like a normal student.
It was something she found unnerving. Odd. The page didn't have any magical
tampering on it though as far as she could tell, even when she cast a wandless
charm on it to know for sure. Her hand slipped from the page. It had to be true
then.
"Isn't that Crouch's son?"
Hermione almost jumped at the question, gaze flickering towards the student and
she immediately felt it was the wrong reaction. Her gaze moved quickly back to
the page. "Yeah. He got released from Azkaban a few weeks ago. Heard a wizard
say that he was in Ravenclaw while I was out during the weekend and needed to
see it for myself. Otherwise I just wouldn't have believed it. He seems more
like a Slytherin."
"It is a bit hard to believe." She held in a sigh of relief that he had bought
her story. "Always thought he was a Slytherin myself, but this makes more
sense."
She blinked. "What?" Hermione glanced towards the older student. "How does it
make more sense?"
"Between what's on this page and what happened in fifth year, your fourth year,
it was a bit hard to believe. The actions he took, regardless if he was
imperiod or not were more similar to what a Ravenclaw would have done, not a
Slytherin."
"How so?" she still couldn't quite wrap her head around what the seventh year
was saying. The fact that Barty was a Ravenclaw wasn't surprising him. Though
it had surely surprised her.
"The way he got around everything; jinxing the Goblet of Fire, the other tricks
on students to manipulate them. It's different than the way a Slytherin would
normally manipulate someone. Slytherin students don't tend to take such
chances, they want something that won't even have a small chance of failing.
Ravenclaws are more intellectual about it, also adapt to the circumstances a
lot faster. Aryen Claikar did a study on personalities for Hogwarts because of
the different Houses and how they were similar to the Founders, along with a
bunch of other details. It fits the general outlook."
"Oh." She hadn't ever looked up any of Claikar's studies before, but they were
more on personalities and magic that collaborated with them rather than things
she found more interesting. Maybe she should look up a few for independent
study. "Here." She closed the year book before handing it back to him. "Thanks
again." Hermione said then pushed herself from the wall, starting her way back
down the stairs towards the Great Hall not wanting to be late after Ginny
telling her that she and Ron had something to tell her and Harry.
As soon as took a seat on the long bench alongside the Gryfindor table Ron
asked, "What took you so long?"
"Hey," Ginny flicked at her brother's nose making him announce a loud ow though
Hermione doubted it had hurt. After everything she had experience just a few
days ago she didn't see how anyone could say ow over such a little thing.
"dinner hasn't even started yet. Stop being such a sour puss."
"You had something you wanted to tell me and Hermione?" Harry asked as the food
appeared on the plates and they all started collecting some onto their own.
"Yeah, but not here. Ron and I went back to the house and used our brother's
extendable ears and overheard a few things the other night." There was a pause
as Ginny drank from her glass of water, voice slightly lowered next time she
spoke, "It's about Remus."
Hermione's hand stopped mid-air, the mash potatoes from her fork falling onto
her plate with a plop. The blood in her veins suddenly felt cold. Remus had
seen something... what if that's what Ginny and Ron had overheard? So far she
didn't know many specifics about it and she didn't want to know anything more.
She hadn't even looked at the Daily Prophet to see what had happened to the
Walgonn family. Personally she would rather the only thing she revealed to
Barty be that it was cube shaped, the only thing she actually knew about this
object. Surely there had been multiple items of that shape that he couldn't
just guess right off the bat what it was. For all either of them knew it could
be completely harmless. Why Barty was convinced it was something important was
just another thing she didn't want to know. If she did then he would just tear
the information from her eventually.
"Hermione?" The moment she felt a hand on her arm she jerked it back and out of
Harry's grip, a flush coming over her cheeks when she realized how she was
reacting to this news.
Setting the one hand on her lap as she got more food from the other plates with
the one holding the serving utensil she asked, "Is Remus okay?"
Ginny was silent for a moment, just looking at Hermione as she purposely
avoided eye contact with the ginger haired girl. "The nurse said he'll be fine.
He's not critical anymore and should only be in the hospital for a few more
days."
"That's good news." Hermione said, looking down so she didn't have to meet any
of their eyes as she could still feel them all looking at her. She picked up
her own fork, taking a bite as an excuse not to speak.
"Yeah." She didn't look up from her plate even after she heard them all eating
their own food. "It's the only good news though." Ron said, he sounded bitter.
As if something had gone horribly wrong.
Her stomach clentched and she sat the fork down, staring at her plate that
still held half the food not sure if she could finish it. She had a sinking
feeling this other news was her fault.
"I was thinking we could talk more in Hagrid's Hut. He said he would be out in
the forest so we could use it if we wanted to talk about what we heard in
private."
"He said that?" Harry asked.
"Well, we got caught." Ginny said, judging from the sound of her voice she was
blushing out of embarrassment, though Hermione didn't look up to check. She
just pushed her food around the plate not able to take another bite. "Hagrid
was there and he offered the hut as a safe place for us to talk. Mum had us
kicked out of the house after that and told us to go play while they finished
up and to not listen in again."
When Ginny went silent after that Hermione just took small sips of water as the
other three finished eating. She pushed herself up from the bench and followed
them out of the Great Hall reluctantly.
Hermione tugged her robes tighter around herself to try and stop the shivering
that had started once they were out of the castle and walking down the path to
the hut.
Harry was the first to get to the door and pulled it open, waiting for the rest
of them to enter before closing it behind him. Hermione went to sit in one of
the chairs around the table waiting for Harry to get settled so they could
start this... meeting. One she would rather not be at but she couldn't think up
anyway to get out of it that wouldn't make her look gulity or even come across
as weird to them. Since under normal circumstances she wouldn't miss anything
like this.
"So what's the bad news?" Harry asked.
Ginny visibly paled at the question. "Well, do you remember what Remus said?
About what he was doing before the attack?"
Hermione found herself holding her breath as Harry nodded muttering a, "Yeah."
in response.
"Right. Well," There was a pause and Hermione looked to Ginny who was obviously
trying to get herself to say the words.
Ron must have decided Ginny was taking too long as he just blurted it out in
the next second, "That half-blood family, the Walgonns, that were going to be
joining the Order, supporting them and stuff. They were all killed on Monday."
Hermione couldn't help but lower her eyes to the table, her blood completely
cold, guilty running through her veins. If she had just been able to keep her
mouth shut. If Barty hadn't switched the questions on her. If she had just said
the shape of the item. Whatever it was it couldn't be more important than all
those lives that were lost. If-
"There's one other thing." Hermione raised her head slowly to look at Ginny
wondering what else could have gone wrong. "It's not necessarily bad news...
but it's not entirely good news either. Once the nurses were sure Remus wasn't
critical anymore they had let the Order inside and he told them everything that
had happened and how he had seen the Death Eaters and this... box I guess. With
engravings, like a puzzle box and how he could feel dark energy radiating from
it. Remus said he actually saw a Death Eater cast a spell on it and how it
seemed to... soak it in."
Hermione had to force herself to not get up and run from the room. This is
exactly what she hadn't wanted to know about. What Barty would want to ask her
about and she wasn't completely sure if she could keep it to herself this time.
She would try, but just thinking about it made her skin burn as if the leather
striking over her skin again. As if he was burning his name into her side.
She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the memory, just listening to the
others talk.
"What is that suppose to do?" Harry asked.
"I don't know. That's when we got caught and ended up having to go outside. The
members of the Order probably have an idea or two but I have no clue what it
is. There might be something in the Restricted Section of the library."
"Like what?" Ron asked. "How to make your own puzzle box of doom?"
"Pandora's box." The idea had just suddenly came to Hermione and she said it
out loud, opening her eyes as she glanced around at the others. "You said it
soaked up the dark energy, like it was storing it inside. So it just keeps
taking in all the energy until someone opens it."
"That's a myth."
Hermione scowled at Ron. "I'm not saying it's Pandora's actual box. I'm saying
it sounds like it works the same way as the box. You open it and it will
release all that dark energy. In the myth it releases all the evil into the
world and we already got all the evil in the world."
"That sounds better than what Ron and I thought up back at the Burrow."
"So, it's a weapon then?" Harry asked.
Hermione shrugged. "Could be." she said while getting up. "I have to go and
start on my homework so you guys can look it up in the library and see if you
get anywhere with that."
"Wait." Ron said as she pushed the chair into the table and she glanced towards
him wondering why she should. She shouldn't have been in on this meeting in the
first place. The Order would tell Harry if there was anything truly dangerous
going on. "You can do your homework later, we need your help."
No, you really don't. She didn't say the words but they were there in her mind.
"Not right now. Maybe later." Hermione turned and quickly exited the hut to put
some distance between them. It was bad enough that she now knew what Remus had
seen, she didn't need to dicuss it any further with the others. For all she
knew someone else would die and she just couldn't let that happen again.
***** Chapter 11 *****
Chapter Notes
     Happy Spring Break!
The insistent tapping of a heel along the polished wood floor for five straight
minutes finally grated on Blaise's nerves enough for him to look up at his
wife-to-be, when she turned seventeen that is.
Daphne Greengrass was sitting in one of the over cushioned chairs, legs crossed
at the ankles. Her hard stare just become more evident now that he was looking
at her, green eyes practically flickering with magic sparks. Even if he didn't
know her too well it was evident right now that she was angry. Of what exactly
he didn't know. He wished he had had a father that had warned him about
angering a woman. She looked more terrifying sitting there than a Death Eater
performing the cruciatus curse, and she hadn't even spoken yet.
This time the tapping didn't stop like the last time he had looked to her. "If
I had known this arrangement would upset you this much-" he began, testing the
boiling waters to try and pinpoint the issue only to hesitate the moment her
eyes narrowed at him.
"That's not it."
Blaise sighed. Good grief. "Then what is it?" He hadn't meant to sound
exasperated but he must have as she just glared at him harder.
"'What is it?' What do you mean, 'what is it?' You should know exactly what the
problem is."
His brow raised slightly at the way she had mimicked his vocal cords. "I don't
sound like that."
Her shoulders raised as she drew in a breath and he unconsiously leaned further
into his own chair. "Do I look like I give a damn if I sound like you? No, no I
bloody well do not. I don't know if you've heard, well, obviously you haven't
or else you wouldn't be asking me such a stupid question. But there's this
rumor going around-and I'm not talking about that one. I'm talking about the
one where you were blushing over your 'match.' Yeah, I heard about that."
He chose to intervene as she stopped for a breath of air. Considering that this
topic was coming up it was a good thing none of their dormmates could heard
them. "That was from those giggling girls getting ideas, you can even ask
Draco. He'll tell you himself that's all it was." He hoped his friend would
anyway, if he wasn't off sulking in some corner. Just another thing that was
getting on his nerves.
"Oh! Is that it?" His eyes rolled at the overexageration before he could stop
himself. "Don't you roll your eyes at me mister, blush-over-any-girl-that-
looks-his-way."
"I don't." He tried to interject.
"Of course you don't. 'Cause it was just made up by her for your cover. Which
is just going just swell I'm sure." Blaise frowned, as he wasn't exactly sure
how it was going at the moment. He should probably try and see Hermione
sometime within a week to assure everyone that the Ministry had put them
together. Otherwise everything they had worked at would just fall apart, and
considering the way Daphne was currently acting she wasn't ready for the big
reveal of getting married to a Zabini, or getting married at all for that
matter. "By the way, it wasn't her idea and there's no reason for rumors of you
two snogging in an abandoned classroom-" So that's what this was about.
He pushed himself up from his chair walking over towards her.
"-and, and," she blinked at him as he sat infront of her, clasping her hands in
his own. "w-what are you doing?"
"Daphne," he paused only long enough to lay a kiss on one of her still visible
fingers. "don't worry about rumors like that. You know there not true. Hermione
has her own match and I have you, there's no reason either of us would get
together. This arrangement is for ourbenefit. All you have to do to end it is
tell me when you're ready." He watched her shoulders slowly go down, her body
visibly relaxing. "Besides, all these rumors only work to benefit it. I told
you already that I would tell you if there was any truth to any of them. The
only current one is that blushing thing, which was only because I looked to
long-" Her lips pursed at this and he pressed on despite feeling the start of
another infamous Greengrass glare. "because she had blood on her wrist."
Daphne blinked. "Blood?" That news seemed to have stopped the glare abrutly.
"Why?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I just noticed it. She told Potter and Weasely that
she had been at her parent's house and she had come running into class so I
would guess it was a minor cut she hadn't been able to heal right away. If you
heard about that ridiculous snogging rumor than you must have heard how she was
almost late."
"Yeah, I heard about that."
He parted his hands so he could kiss the back of her hand. "Then don't do this
to yourself. Don't stress over what everyone else is saying."
Daphne gave a soft sigh. "You're right."
Blaise couldn't resist grinning at her. "Of course I am."
"Don't get full of yourself mister."
                                     / / /
The black cloak billowed behind Ginny when she turned a corner sharply intent
on finding Ron and Harry. Fortunately she soon found herself right infront of
them, almost colliding with-
"Harry!" she exclaimed grabbing onto his arm to stop herself from toppling into
him even further. "Did you-"
"No." Ron answered before she could even ask. "We checked everywhere we could
think of. Harry even remembered the Marauder's Map after we went to half of the
places on foot-"
"I just didn't think of it right away, and neither did you."
Ron continued as if he hadn't just been interrupted by Harry. "-and we didn't
see Hermione anywhere on it."
Ginny sighed. "Well, maybe she just wants to be alone right now. You know we
can wait till she gets back over the weekend to talk about it. It's not
necessary to do it right now."
"But-"
"No. She said an hour ago that she needed to speak with Blaise right? That's a
bit more important considering we can't do anything with the information we
have whether we tell her or not."
Ron sighed, scratching at the back of his head. "We didn't see Blaise on the
map either. I guess she already left with him for the weekend."
"Monday then, and before then let's try not to get worked up again."
Ron gave an embaressed laugh as they made their way back to the commons.
                                     / / /
There was a loud scratching as the pen moved quickly across the parchment,
blotting out what used to be notes. Picking up the paper and crumpling it
Hermione threw it behind her into the ever growing stack of ripped parchment.
Leaning forward she pulled one of the books forward to glare at it.
None of these were helping her. At this point she was sure this one wouldn't
either. She had been able to get Slughorn's permission to go into the
Restricted Section easily enough when she started running out of material open
to everyone. It was just a chance she was willing to take even with the
knowledge that most of the subjects in those stacks contained dark magic, had a
connection with the dark arts. Something she kept trying to avoid these last
few days.
With a sigh she flipped open the book, glancing over the contents only to close
it a moment later then hurl the book across the room.
"Useless!"
She buried her face in her hands taking in deep slow breaths to try and calm
herself down. It's just that she wasn't finding anything to help her. She
barely had anytime left before she had to go back to Barty and her search
hadn't yeilded any results no matter where she looked for a solution.
Every book on memory charms she could get her hands on was splaid out on the
desk infront of her, but she still hadn't managed to find anything within them
that could help her.
All she needed was a spell that would erase the knowledge that Barty would want
from her. Apparently it was a tall order. Obliviation wouldn't work though, her
suspicions on that had just been confirmed from the texts, plus the incident
with Gilderoy Lockhart just made it obvious that if any memory charm went
haywire it wouldn't be good for her.
All of her research just led her in circles. Charms that specifically got rid
of remembering spiders-which now that she thought of it was probably something
Ron could use to get over his fear of the arthropods.
There were more, but they were just as useless as the next and the drawback for
casting any incorrectly still shocked her. Though it made sense, afterall she
would be manipulating her own mind.
She pushed the next book away, resting her head on folded arms and closing her
eyes. If she was going to have any chance of Barty not getting the information
she would need her strength.
***** Chapter 12 *****
Hermione rolled over in her sleep, fingers brushing over something smooth and
soft, her hands clutched at the fabric a moment later. Eyebrows drawing
together in confusion. Fabric? Soft? She distinctly remembered falling asleep
on a hard wood chair; the edges digging into her sides, body curled awkwardly
with her cheek resting against the desk when her arms must have fallen off. She
remembered-
Her eyes flew open, a terror pounding up her throat as she glanced around
quickly. Breath already coming in quick awkward gasps. There was a blur of
golds, red, white. It all danced in her vision as her mind spun, only coming to
a halt when her gaze rested on the vanity mirror.
Taking in a breath she stared back at her reflection. Of her room, the sheets
of the bed tucked up around her.
For a moment she had thought she was in his bed again, living through a round
of nightmares each time her eyes closed, that he would be standing over her,
waiting.
Seeing her own eyes looking back at her, and being in a place she considered
relatively safe, until the events of Sunday that is. Drawing in a shaky breath
she turned away from the mirror, her eyes widening a moment later.
Oh, please. Please don't let it be him.
Not this soon.
She turned her head slowly to look at the door frame, to find him standing
there in that black robe she had seen from the corner of her eye. "Barty." she
had tried to make her voice sound calm but instead it came out shaking and she
could feel her whole body trembling like a leaf just from the sight of him.
"Lose your Gryfindor courage over the week Hermione?" He sounded amused and she
wondered how long he had been standing there, if he had been waiting for her to
wake up.
She fought to keep her voice from shaking this time, after finding another
reason for her to be shivering like she was. "No. I-it was-nightmare." Her
voice seemed to have just shaken more and she clamped her jaw shut, hoping he
wouldn't see past the lie. The last thing she needed was him knowing the effect
he was having on her after everything he had put her through last weekend. Even
that fever had been his fault, all those nightmares had been because of him. No
matter what he said of it not being neccessary if she had just told him what he
wanted to hear in the first place. He still wanted her to tell him about what
the Order knew. She couldn't let him know how much going back to that room from
hell scared her.
And yet, she was still shivering.
She forced herself to keep her eyes on him, even if it only seemed to make her
body shake even more beneath the sheets. He was staring at her, as if
considering the words. She resisted the urge to look away from him even as her
fingers shook and she curled them under the covers to try and atleast stop
their movement. "Is that what it is?"
"What else would it be from?"
He smirked at her words and Hermione felt her heart leapt into her throat. Did
he- No. No, he couldn't possibly know the reason for it. When he stepped into
the room she focused on keeping herself from moving. Even as he made his way to
the bedside, the bed dipping slightly when he sat down on the surface. Her eyes
widened in the next moment though, because his hands were suddenly on her and
she had to drive the urge to scream down her throat.
His fingers gripped her shoulders, pulling her up from her horizontal position
on the bed. One hand dropping only for her to feel his arm around her waist,
moving her across the bed toward him. Her back was pressed to his chest in
seconds, both arms now secured around her waist, a finger dipping beneath the
waistline to rub at her hip bone. She stared down at it, watching the circles
being drawn there through... lace. Lace? When had that happened? When had she-
Her eyes widened as realization flashed through her. "You changed my clothes."
"Tucked you in bed too, or would you have liked to continue to sleep on the
floor? Didn't look very comfortable from where I was standing." She didn't
respond at first, her mind still stuck on the fact that he had changed her into
something so revealing. It hardly even covered most of her body and was see-
through in the thinnest places. The top held in place by a string of lace over
each shoulder as it flowed over her to stop where his hands rested. She sucked
in a breath after seeing the bottom half stop before so much as touching her
thighs, it was much too short, something she would have never imagined herself
wearing before this. "Something wrong?"
"You changed my cothes." It was all she could manage to say for a moment. "With
magic."
"Yes to the first, no to the second." She stiffened in his grip, bile rising in
her throat. Just thinking about him removing each piece of fabric from her body
to replace it with this made her feel sick. That his hands had been all over
her while she was out cold from exhaustion. The fact that they were on her now,
her body pressed against his only made the feeling increase in the pit of her
stomach.
Taking in a breath she managed to ask, "Why?" After waiting a few seconds for
him to give no response she pressed on, "I'm a muggleborn."
This time there was a low chuckle at her ear. "No. You're mine." At first she
thought her own skin had crawled at the words, then she felt how his hand had
slipped under the top to rest on her stomach. There was a nudge of skin at her
left cheek but she was too shocked to fight him, her head moving over to the
right, feeling her hair tucked behind her shoulder, slowly as both of his hands
were occupied.
She still felt herself tremble from his actions. "Stop shivering." The words
were soft against her ear but she couldn't stop herself from shaking in his
grasp. "Close your eyes." For a moment she stared at the sheet of the bed, then
the lids of her eyes cast down and she only saw darkness. "What do you see?"
Hermione whimpered softly in her throat not sure what he wanted her to say. The
light in the room wasn't bright enough for her to see even with her eyes
closed, and besides the dark there was nothing. It took her a second but she
forced her mouth to work, "Nothing."
There was another brush of skin over her cheek, rising up along her jaw bone
back to her ear in the seconds of silence that followed. The bottom of her
earlobe was tugged only slightly, it took her a moment to realize he had
gripped it between his lips. "What do you feel?"
She thought over the question for a second, but she must have gotten the last
one right or else he wouldn't have asked a different one. If he wasn't looking
for a riddle of an answer like she had first believed then it had to be
something else simple. She repeated the question in her mind, what do I feel?
Circles were still being rubbed into her hip from his fingers. Her legs
ensnared in a rougher fabric than the blankets of the bed, his robe then, one
of the legs beneath it lying over her own. Stomach warm from the presence of
his skin against her flesh. The repeated press of breath over her cheek, almost
rhythmic. Everything she felt was from him in one way or another, her own
fingers touching the robe rather than the sheets of the bed that was now
beneath her. "You."
Her earlobe was tugged on again and she took it to mean she had answered
correctly or atleast in his favor. "What do you hear?"
Focusing on her surroundings she became aware of the crackle of fire from above
in the chandelier. The soft pops the flame made as it burned the candles. The
wax of which would be sliding down the sides quietly. She would be able to see
it if she opened her eyes. Instead she just focused harder and the sound of the
fire slowly drew into the background.
It was his breathing that broke the following silence. Softer than a whisper
against her skin. She only turned her head ever so slightly, cheek pressing to
his robe, hearing the soft rustle of the fabric when she leaned into it. There
was another sound beneath that, beating like a steady drum and she focused on
it. On his heart. She kept focusing till even that was drowned in silence.
Leaving her in the dark, cocooned in his arms, surrounded by dead air.
"Nothing." She whispered in return, barely aware of how her body had stopped
shaking. How the span of time between tremors kept lengthening until it was
eventually nonexistent.
"Can you listen to me?"
His words peirced the quiet and she didn't say anything for a moment, shocked
by the sound. "Yes."
"Only me?"
"Yes."
Lips were pressed to her cheek, then to the bridge of her nose, moving up to
settle on her forehead and she leaned into the soft touches. The only other
prescence with her in the dark, his voice filling the empty void. The lingering
touch at her waist had moved down past the lace to her leg. A nail pressing
over the skin, moving slowly across the expanse of flesh, leaving only a soft
pleasant feeling behind it that lingered for mere seconds.
"Do you know my name?"
Hermione turned at the feel of his lips now brushing over her left cheek with
every syllable spoken. "Barty." The corner of her lips brushed against his and
she stopped in her movement.
"Do you know my full name?"
A small thrill ran through her with each brush of those lips and she answered,
"Bartemius Nyle Crouch Junior." She paused. "Like the river."
His chuckle ran like streams of water over her skin, down her throat, leaving
rivulets crawling down in the pattern of the lace. "Yes, like the river."
She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter, wanting nothing but to focus on those
words, to drink them in.
"Would you like me to tell you about it?"
For a moment her lips remained parted. The idea of just listening, of just
feeling that nail repeatedly dragged up and down her leg, it was too good to
pass up. "Yes, please."
She felt his lips move back up to her ear, brushing over her skin periodically
as he had already started speaking in the same soft tones. Soon he was
whispering directly into her ear and she drank each word in, a shiver running
it's way down her spine as he described each area it passed through so she
could picture the lands perfectly even though she had never been to any of
them.
The painted landscapes in her mind vanished within seconds after he stopped
describing them to her. Leaving her to see nothing but darkness again, mind
focusing on the way his hands roamed over her body. The hand on her leg had
moved to her arm, the one on her stomach tracing the patterns of the lace ontop
of the fabric. She had the overwhelming urge to stay like that, to just sew her
eyes shut so she could stay in the darkness with nothing but his whispers to
sate her need for company.
His finger had stopped at her shoulder just before he said, "Show me." She
hardly had to think to know what he was referring to. Hermione tipped her head
toward him, raising a hand to brush her hair over her shoulder, exposing the
right side of her neck. His hand trailed up past her shoulder, finger running
along the scar, his-and now her's-initial. "You know what this means?"
Of course she did. She had always known the moment he carved it into her skin.
"That I'm yours." She shivered when his finger pressed against her collarbone.
"Only yours."
"And?" His lips were on her forehead again.
"I'm a part of the Crouch family. That I'm married to you."
For awhile she just felt him tracing the scar over and over again, she was sure
it was turning a shade of red. "I'm going to ask you a few things, and I need
you to answer them. Okay?"
Hermione took in a slow breath when his hand raised to trace around her breast.
"Okay." She whispered.
"Where does the Order usually have it's meetings?"
She opened her mouth but stopped, she tried again a second later before
frowning. "I can't say." Even so she tried again, "I... it's in... there's a...
a secr-"
"Shh. Don't strain yourself." Fingers trailed through her hair, pressing
lightly into her scalp. "Who's the secret keeper?" Her tongue couldn't seem to
move for a moment. "Hermione?" She gasped, his fingers had just slid around her
throat, tracing little crescents the whole time.
"Mad-Eye."
Those lips pressed at the corner of her closed eye. "How did you know about
Remus?"
"He came to the Weasely household when we were discussing-they were discussing
marriages. The twins marriages." She paused, feeling her heart start to beat
louder as the memory surfaced. "Remus came barging in from the door bleeding,
we-they-surrounded him, to try and stop it, the bleeding. I-i-"
"Hermione," his tongue was tracing her ear, fingers moving over her breast,
tracing that scar again, touching at the bite mark, "come back to me."
With a soft whimper she followed his voice back to the darkness and away from
the grim scene forming in her head. She raised a hand to grasp at the cloth of
his robe, to feel his fingers slide over hers barely a second later, leaving
her chest feeling cold in it's absence. "Thank you."
"Can you tell me what he saw?"
Her fingers clutched back at his. "A box."
"Do you know what it looked like?"
"Like a puzzle. A puzzle box. They said it emanated dark energy."
"Who's they?"
"Ron and Ginny, they oveheard the Order with a pair of extendable ears."
"Does anyone else know they were listening?"
"They were caught." There was a soft hum in her ear. Parting her lips she
began, "I... I compared it to Pandora's box. They said Remus had seen it
soaking in some kind of spell."
There was a pause. "Do they know what it does?"
"No. Ron and Ginny don't. The Order might. That's when they were caught."
"If they come up with something, will you tell me?"
"Yes."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"I'll hold you to that."
She just burrowed into his chest. "My head hurts." Fingers were pressing at her
scalp again, moving slowly. Lips pressed to her forehead. "Please, don't ask me
anything else Barty."
"Just one more, okay?" She nodded. "Do you trust me?"
Her lips seemed to stay parted for a long time, it felt like hours, though it
was really close to a minute. "I..." she took in a breath. "I don't know."
"Good enough. Go to sleep."
A sigh of relief past her lips and she reached her other hand up to curl into
his robe, pressing her cheek firmly to the cloth before slipping into a dream.
When her eyes opened she spent a good amount of time staring at the dark fabric
infront of her, up until she noticed the way her whole body seemed to be rising
and falling in gentle waves. Her eyes raised slowly to see Barty's head leaning
against the headboard. His chest still rised in an even manner so her slightl
movement obviously hadn't woken him.
The thought of keeping still flew out of her mind before it could really settle
there. Hermione just stared at him, her eyes widening every passing second. Her
hand moved quickly to clasp over her mouth to keep the scream from bubbling up,
a sob still broke through.
She had told him everything, more then she had ever meant too. The words had
come freely from her, not a one tortured from her body. Her fingers parted and
she sobbed again as her eyes felt hot, tears quickly overflowing to run down
her cheeks. She... She raised both her hands to rub at her eyes, to stop the
tears, but they still fell. How could she have done that? How could he-
"Hermione?"
Her eyes widened at the realization he was awake and she just cried harder, her
whole frame shaking with each sob that racked her body. Raising her hands she
pounded at his chest. "I hate you." she repeated with each strike. "I fucking
hate you." Another sob racked her body and soon she couldn't get the words out
anymore.
His arms had wrapped around her in that time, draped over both her waist and
chest, pinning her arms down so they no longer connected with his chest. "Shh."
She turned her head, burying her face in it as tears streamed down her face.
Something soft was pressed to the top of her head and the tears just came down
faster. She kept cryng until finally she didn't have the energy and the world
of dreams took her again, still nestled within his arms, clutching at his
fingers and wrists.
***** Chapter 13 *****
Chapter Notes
     I know a lot of you still have questions on a few things and
     hopefully this will answer most of them.
Hermione was leaning over a piece of parchment she had laid out flat on the
bed, a book placed underneath so she could write with her quil. She had put the
stopper in the ink well some minutes ago halfway through writing the essay for
Defense Against the Dark Arts, not being able to concentrate.
Everytime she looked at the paper she found it ironic that even after all this
studying of defending herself against the dark arts she didn't know a thing
about it. The class seemed to be more against dark creatures then the magic
itself. Things like werewolves and boggarts. It might as well have been Care of
Magical Creatures though with how effective it was.
Not a single lesson had prepared her for what had happened the day before.
Being completely and utterly under Barty's control, actually wanting to stay
like that, as if it were... some sick twisted version of bliss.
Even now when she closed her eyes she could hear his whispers next to her ear
and already found herself missing the warmth from his arms wrapped securely
around her. It happened each time she blinked, a phantom of his breath
lingering across her skin.
A shiver ran down her spine and she snapped her eyes open to get rid of the
feeling. Her hands raised to rub at her arms, fingers hesitating at moving
after what he had done before.
She still wasn't entirely sure what he had done. It had been bothering her
since she had woken up, having to force her way out of his arms, almost
tripping over his legs before making her way to the kitchen as her stomach had
growled at her for having not fed it for so long once again. Once her stomach
had been full though and she made her way back to the room she had found him
gone from the blankets. When looking down the hallway the door to his room had
been closed and she had retreated back to her own.
After that she had stayed in her room, door closed to try and keep him out.
Right now she was just staring at the paper infront of her. The third essay she
was working on today to try and forget where she was. She had known when she
started that it wouldn't last. That eventually doing her homework for school
would stop working as a distraction. He was only a few rooms away... She could
just get up... She should just get up.
Get up from her bed and stop cowering in her room. At this point Hermione
didn't see a reason to lie to herself. She was avoiding him, but when he needed
to see her for the requirements of the law she wouldn't be able to keep it up.
There was no reason to think a closed door would keep him from getting to her.
He had already proved that countless times.
Taking in a breath she pushed up from the bed, not allowing herself to think as
she swung her legs over the side and walked to the door, turning the knob to
push it open and enter the hall. Not even taking a moment to compose herself
she turned the corner walking towards the dark splintered wood of his door.
It was here that she stopped short. Splintered? Looking closer she could see
the numerous cracks that hadn't been present before. What the hell had he done?
Blow up the door and then stick it back together? It looked like it would fall
to a heap of toothpick sized sticks if she knocked on it. If he had destroyed
the door why hadn't she heard it?
She felt her nerve lessen and start to fade away as she stared at it. It was
possible he was in another bad mood. Just like when he had shattered the
flickering light bulb, and then shoved her to the ground moments later... She
squeezed her eyes shut to try and forget that memory, to regain the courage she
needed to knock on the door. But then his whispers were in her head again,
"...dead grass pressing right up to the bank...a person painting over their
face in black ink...honoring some forgotten god...a stone the color of the
night sky covered in hieroglyphs..."
"Hermione?"
Fingers grasped at her chin and she gasped, eyes flickering open to stare at
him. The door was open now, somehow still held together. He was leaning against
the frame looking down at her, thumb rolling under her jaw to touch at her
throat.
"Barty." Her voice came out odd, in a daze. Soft like when he had been speaking
to her.
"What are you doing here Hermione?"
She blinked and would have fallen back into those whispers if a pair of fingers
hadn't raised to pinch at her lower lip. What had she been doing here? She
racked through her mind to find the answer, slowly focusing back on him.
"What..." She drew her tongue over cracked lips and tried again, "What did you
do to me?"
There was a faint glimmer of amusement in his eyes that she would have thought
to be an illusion if not for his next words, "You'll have to be more specific."
She fought down the frustration rising in her. "The spell you used." At his
raised brow she continued with a tremor in her voice, "When you asked me those
questions and I...i..."
"Answered them like you're suppose to?" She managed to nod, feeling a tear
slide down her cheek.
"What spell was it?" She wanted to-needed-to know. So she could try and look in
the library for a counterspell or something to at the very least defend herself
against it the next time.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're referring to."
She stared at him, at a loss of words for a moment before yelling, "Stop
playing games with me! I want to know what you did to me that I would just tell
you the Order's secrets like that! That I would just sit quietly as you
molested me!" She barely registered the way his eyes had darkened, all amusment
now gone from his expression as she continued to scream, "That you-I almost
kissed you!" She missed the way his eyes lowered from her own. "What did you do
that would make me do anything like that! To just-just betray my friends on a
whim! How could you-"
Her words cut off when his lips landed on her own, pressing so hard she was
sure they would bruise. It took her body a moment to register what he was doing
and she raised her hands to push at his shoulders, eventually laying a punch on
one to stop the preassure on her lips.
Her hand was caught before it could even land, his mouth off hers as he looked
down at her, fingers wrapped around the wrist of her curled fist. "You're not
doing that again." He forced her arm back down to her side. "Surely you should
know by now that I don't need a spell to do anything to you. I can touch you
whenever, wherever I want to. A spell is not required for that. If I wanted you
to kiss me, you would simply do it without my asking."
"So you imperiod me," she hissed through clenched teeth, "because that's the
only way that would ever happen."
Her head hurt in the next second, everything had moved so fast it took her
awhile to register all of what had happened. His eyes had narrowed to slits,
the preassure on her wrist had spiked to a sharp pain. It was as if the bones
in her hand were rubbing against eachother through the sheer force being
applied. She wasn't sure her hand could manage anymore pain until he had
slammed it up against the wall, whirling her whole frame into the stone. Which
had resulted in the now pounding headache that was making her vision swim in
black dots. Atleast, she thought thats what it was, his hand around her throat
was likely contributing to that factor. There was an angry snarl at her ear.
"Watch what you accuse me of. You stupid witch."
If she could manage to get air into her lungs her heart would be hammering by
now. As it was she was struggling to draw in breath after breath, to get even a
shred of oxygen into her lungs. His voice was even lower when he spoke again,
"Do you recall not being able to move your body without a voice telling you to?
Did I ever tell you to move, specifically for that matter? Funny thing is, I
don't remember ever telling you to lean toward me so that you almost kissed me.
What I remember is you doing that of your own freewill. So don't you accuse me
of something you did of your own accord. If you think blaming me for your own
actions makes them go away you are sadly mistaken."
The grip on her wrist increased and she let loose a low cry, not able to scream
fully with the way his hand was clamped along her throat. "There are so many
things I could make you do by just thinking that spell. Would you like to
experience it first hand? To feel your mind empty of any thoughts that are your
own? Would you like for me to fill it with my own? To make you into no more
than a puppet? I could do it. I could make you stab each of your friends in the
gut and watch them bleed out in their sleep and you wouldn't have any other
choice than to obey. I could make you crawl over hot coals, slice your own skin
off. I could order you to your knees, and make you enjoy it. Is that what you
want?" Tears slid silently down her cheeks and she tried to shake her head. "Is
it?" His lips were tugging at her ear again, pulling roughly at the skin. From
the sharp pain there she was sure he had broken the surface. That the warm
feeling was blood. "Answer me."
The force applied to her throat finally loosened and she gasped in breaths of
air, struggling to form a single word. It took her awhile but she managed to
form a coherent, "No."
"Are you sure?" This time when her wrist was given a twist she screamed.
"N-no." She struggled to get the word out, each time she opened her mouth to
force more air down her throat she tasted salt on her lips. "Barty, please-"
Her head connected with the wall and she gasped, her gaze filling with black
blobs that grew from the corners of her vision. A voice whispered in her ear
and her field of vision was restored, the feeling returned to her sore limbs.
She hated magic then, as the pain was burning through her again. Hermione
wished she had been able to black out. "What did I tell you about that word?"
"It-it won't get me anywhere. It holds no weight here." She closed her eyes
wanting it all to stop but the whispers didn't come this time. A flutter of
panic welled in her chest, steadily growing at this realization. "Barty," she
hesitated, not sure what to say anymore. "let me go. You're hurting me."
"I'm hurting you?" Laughter filled her ears and she flinched at the sound.
"That's funny." His lips grazed her cheek and she stilled, tears rolling down
even faster to feel his tongue sweep across the skin, catching each drop.
"Barty-"
"No." She yelped when he tugged her head forward by the hair to direct her back
to the stone barely a second later. "You're not getting out of this." Hermione
opened her eyes slowly her gaze flickering until settling on his hands tearing
at her robe. She was only able to let out a whimper in her throat, regretting
it a moment later when his lips were on her neck. "I'm going to make you
scream, you silly little girl."
There was a loud rip as the fabric was torn and she fought not to make a single
noise, scared of what he would do to her throat if she did. That he might
bloody it like her ear when his teeth had been hovering there. She could feel
her clothes being torn to shreds, fluttering to the ground beneath her. Soon
feeling the cold air on her skin that only seemed to last a second as his hands
were moving over her now. Raising her up along the wall. She only struggled
when his breath was no longer on her neck trying to ignore the brief rustle of
clothes when a hand left her.
She was lowered suddenly, letting loose a scream when he slid into her. His
mouth was on her neck again like she had dreaded but she couldn't keep her
screams down. Teeth skimming over the skin as his fingers roamed up to her
chest. Pinching at her nipples and she could feel the nails pressing against
her flesh, leaving little cuts, specks of blood left behind wherever his
fingers went.
Every little cut seemed to burn and she tensed with each new mark. There would
be a groan at her neck and she would be left screaming when he pounded into her
even harder for those moments her whole body had seemed to tighten up.
His hands kept moving over her body, gripping at her hip so hard she already
felt sore, already knowing the bruises would be dark for weeks afterwards.
Sliding along her back to leave cuts so she yelled even louder when her back
met the wall with each thrust.
Then there was the ever present reminder of his mouth on her neck; the way her
skin was left wet when his tongue trailed across, a sharp pain when teeth met
on her collarbone only to grow hot with each breath that passed over the spot
afterward, her skin being pinched together between his lips. Every time his
teeth lingered on her throat she could feel her heart pounding in fear.
When he finally bit at her neck she screamed, hands rising up to pound on his
shoulders, each tremor just making the feeling worse. Her cries for him to stop
fell on deaf ears and she kept hitting at him until she couldn't deal with the
added pain it caused, arms falling back to her sides. His tongue moved over the
bite mark and she shrieked as terror pounded through her. She had resorted to
yelling his name, pleading even as his teeth sunk back into it's mark. A hand
wrapped around her jaw, shutting out her screams and she sobbed around the
fingers. Her tears only slid down faster, body quivering even though he had
stopped moving within her. Forcing her jaw to move, lips parting beneath his
fingers she tried again, "Ba-rt-y."
Her jaw was released, his mouth no longer pressed to her neck and she would
have slid down the wall if not for his body pressed up against hers. She could
hear his breath coming fast and she swallowed nervously, flinching when she
felt blood running down her throat. When lips were pressed back to the mark she
shut her eyes to open them slowly a second later. It didn't feel like there was
a wound on her neck anymore. His breath was redirected to her ear, "Go back to
your room, and stay there."
When he moved away she gripped at the wall so she didn't fall, only flinching
when the door slammed behind him. Even so she didn't need to be told twice and
with a hand pressed to the stone she made her way back to her own room,
clinging at the wall as she walked as to not fall over.
Hermione slipped quietly back into her room, closing the door so it hardly made
a sound she stumbled to her bed, falling down ontop of it with a sigh of
relief. She laid there for a a little while, then she turned her head, catching
sight of her back in the mirror. Reaching back with a hand she touched at one
of the small scars where a bruise was developing next to it. When she brought
her hand back she looked over the red flecks on her hand before pushing herself
up and off the bed.
She took a quick shower to get rid of the specks of blood, watching the water
turn a slight shade of pink and swirl down the drain simply trying not to think
about what had just happened. It was clear to her that she had touched on a
subject she shouldn't have. That it was something she should avoid from now on.
When she stepped from the shower Hermione stared at her bedroom for awhile.
After he had destroyed the only pair of pajamas she had moved into the
household she didn't have much choice when it came to apparel. It occured to
her that she would need to start bringing some things over so she wasn't stuck
in this situation, just wrapped up in a towel.
Besides her school robes there was one other choice... something that wouldn't
be so heavy on her skin and therefore less likely to cause her to flinch when
the fabric brushed over a bruise. She approached the vanity slowly, pulling
open a drawer to spot the lace within. Hermione pulled it out, looking over the
blue coloring. It was something she hadn't noticed before, that it was his
House color.
She made sure no cuts were bleeding before putting it on, throwing the towel in
laundry basket. As she was now dressed in some semblance of the word Hermione
got back on the bed, pulling up a thin cover around her before grabbing her
quil to resume her work on the essay.
She barely managed a few words before there was a soft knock on her door and
her head snapped up. "Yes?" she called hoping he didn't plan on coming in. The
knob turned and her heart pounded, practically slamming to a halt when she saw
it wasn't him. "Narcissa? What are you doing here?" She regretted the wording,
sure it would seem she was being rude even though she was just surprised to see
the Malfoy here.
"I came to check on you." Narcissa said as she entered the room, clearly giving
the place a look around. "Huh, he didn't change my decor. Do you like it?"
"Yes, thank you." Hermione edged back when Narcissa took a seat at the edge of
the bed.
Narcissa must have noticed the action as she asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Hermione said, raising a hand to make sure her hair covered the ear
Barty had torn into not wanting questions about it. Even if she did tell
Narcissa it's not like she was in a position to help her.
"You don't look fine." For a moment Hermione thought she was going to need to
repeat herself when Narcissa asked, "What do your friends think?"
"What?"
"Of your match." Narcissa clarrified. "It may not be true but the Prophet does
clear him of being a Death Eater. I thought you would have said something to
them."
Hermione blinked. Was she worried that Hermione had let slip that she knew the
truth? Or was she just trying to be her mother? Or was it something else? Her
mind spun, not able to grip on a single one so she grabbed at all the
possibilities she could. "I told them my match was Blaise. He agreed to cover
for me because of his own match. I'm not sure on the specifics for his own, but
that's the deal we made. I haven't said a thing to anyone about him or the fact
that he is a Death Eater, and you can tell Voldemort himself that I'm not going
to. I know what happens if I do."
"Oh. I just figured, well." Narcissa was quiet for a moment. "You do know
you're the only one that was paired with a Death Eater? The Ministry will be
putting pressure on you to reassure everyone that he wasn't involved in the
events of your Fourth Year."
"What? Cuthota told me they would keep the change of my name out of the paper."
"I don't know what agreements you made with the Birth, Marriages, and Deaths
Department but that's just one arm of the Ministry. It's politicial and having
something like that would be seen as good on their part-"
"And the Death Eaters to I assume? Is that why you're here? To tell me to go
and just announce my marriage publicly?" The mere idea that either of them
would have the nerve to use her in a political gamble was more than enough to
make her body tremble in anger.
"No. I'm just telling you what actions the Ministry is considering. It's just
what one of my contacts had been hearing and I thought you should know. I also
thought it would be easier if you took the first step. Which is why you should
probably tell your friends before the Ministry finds a way to work around your
agreement with a minor department."
"Tell me friends? I can't tell my friends!" Narcissa looked as if she was going
to say something but Hermione plowed on, her voice getting louder by the
second, "How can you not understand that? You've seen this law!" There was a
distant slam of a door that she couldn't hear over her own screaming, "You must
have looked over it yourself to get Draco out of it or find some loophole but
there is none! I'll be damned if I see my friends thrown in Azkaban for three
years just for trying to force me out of my marriage! And that's exactly what's
going to happen if I tell them! They won't just sit there with the knowledge!
They'll try to get me out and get themselves imprisoned or worse! I won't let
that happen! The Order needs them!"
"Narcissa." the low voice coming from the door made both of them look up, "Get
out of my house. Now." Barty was standing in the frame glaring at the older
Malfoy who was slowly rising from the bed.
"I was just telling Hermione-"
"Out. And consider your invitation invalid from now on." Narcissa glanced to
Hermione but she just turned her gaze away silently hoping she would just leave
without saying another word to her.
"Fine."
She listened to the sound of Narcissa's foosteps until there was the crackle of
fire from the floo. It was then she noticed the way her hands had curled into
the sheets and she loosened her grip quickly. The bed dipping made her look up,
eyes widening to see Barty sitting there barely a foot away. "No."
"No?" he mocked the trembling tone in her voice as he moved further up the bed
until he was resting against the pillows. "Come here." Her lips parted to
object but his arm was already around her waist and forcing her down to him.
There was a brush of skin on her ear a second later and she raised her hand to
find the teeth marks gone. His fingers were soon on her jaw and she followed
the path they had taken with her own. The cuts she had felt before along with
the sore feeling that only came from a developing bruise was gone as well.
"Take off your clothes."
She hesitated for only a second before gripping the strands of lace at her
shoulders, pushing them down her arms one at a time flincing slightly when it
touched cuts on her arms. His hands grabbed the hem afterward, pulling the top
up and over her head and then tugging the bottom down to her legs leaving her
to kick the garmet off. His hands were already on her chest and stomach, the
scars disapearing with each touch. With her front healed she rolled over,
pressing her chest to his and closed her eyes as she felt his fingers moving
over her back, healing the last few scars on her body.
***** Chapter 14 *****
Chapter Notes
     Mind if I throw in some firecrackers?
After going through Narcissa's words in her mind over and over again, to still
not quite believe what she had heard Hermione currently sat at the little table
in the corner of the living room looking over the letter she had written to
Cuthota. No matter how she looked at it the Ministry should not be able to just
pull her into their politicial agenda. She didn't want to be part of it, to
have her changed name in the papers.
Now if she were given the opportunity to just lie to the Ministry itself about
Barty not being a Death Eater anymore that would be fine. But the way Narcissa
described it it seemed they wanted to make a publicity stunt out of it. That
was something she couldn't deal with. It wasn't something she could let them
do. Not to her. The Ministry had already taken the public outrage blow when it
was announced Barty had been released from Azkaban, and now they wanted a quick
solution it would seem since people were still not convinced. Either those
people were smart or paranoid. Either way she was going to do everything she
could to stay out of it.
First though she needed to know what extents they would go to. It wasn't
directly related to the marriage but Cuthota should still be able to help since
he was the one she had made the last name arrangement with. Plus he was a
Supervisor, that had to count for something in the Ministry hierarchy.
Slipping the letter into an envelope she glanced towards Barty.
He had ordered Narcissa away after she had told Hermione about the Ministry's
plans. Was he even aware of what they had been talking about or had he just
been in a mood? It was hard for her to figure it out, harder since he hadn't
said a word about the subject even though she had been yelling at the top of
her lungs. For him to not know the subject of their conversation would be
suspicious in her book. Him not saying anything just made her more convinced
that he knew something about it.
His form sitting on the couch shifted and she turned quickly aware he had
caught her looking when she saw him staring at her from the corner of her eye.
Taking a breath she glanced to the enclosed letter before looking back at him.
"Is there an owl I can use?" She would rather not have to use Hedwig again
without notifying Harry beforehand and judging from the talk around the school
the Owlery was empty and would be for awhile with most people still making
plans.
"Don't have an owl."
At first she wasn't sure she had heard him right. When she thought about it
though it made sense. The mark on his arm would communicate when Voldemort
needed to speak with him and he didn't appear to have a cover job where an owl
would be needed for communication. "Well, didn't your father have an owl?"
Surely there was one somewhere and if anyone used owl correspondence it would
have been his father.
"He did." She bit her lip, not missing the suggestion made from his use of past
tense. His hand made a motion and the book on the coffee table closed with a
thud. Hermione resisted the urge to jump out of the chair at the sudden noise.
"Why do you want to know?"
Her lips pulled down slightly, not sure if he was being annoying on purpose or
not. "Because I need to send this letter to Cuthota about what Narcissa was
talking about. I'm not going to let the Ministry use our relationship in their
messed up politics."
"You've married into a Pure Blood family, either way you'll have to deal with
the Ministry and it's 'messed up politics.'" If she wasn't so focused on him
she wouldn't have noticed the casual flick of his wrist, a single finger
motioning for her to come over. Her hands clutched at her jeans for a few
seconds before she forced herself to relax. Hermione pushed up from the chair,
aware of his gaze on her as she walked over to sit on the couch beside him. She
tensed just a moment after when his fingers trailed up her arm.
"Barty," she kept her voice low while trying to think of something that would
turn his attention away from her, or rather her body. "why did you send
Narcissa away?"
The fingers hesitated for only a second before continuing on their path. "Why
were you yelling at her?" She frowned, wishing he would answer her question
first for once. "Let me rephrase, didn't you want her to leave?" Hermione
couldn't manage anything else than parting her lips because she had wanted
Narcissa to leave while she was shouting at her, but she didn't want Barty to
know that. After another second of silence passed she glanced towards him to
look away just as quickly. She didn't care for the way his hand kept moving
along her arm, but she really would rather have not seen the way his eyes had
been focused on her lips just now. Noticing they were still parted she clamped
her lips shut. "That's what I thought."
"Did you know about the Ministry's plans?" she asked, wanting to distract
herself and force her most recent memory from her mind. It was making her
thoughts wander back to the past few days.
"The Ministry doesn't have any plans concerning you or me. Narcissa's contact
is hardly high up on the command chain. They may want to use you for their
politicial agenda but they have no plans to do so. You signing that agreement
with Cuthota is what is stopping them from taking any immediate action."
Hermione looked to the letter in her lap, purposely avoiding his gaze. "So they
can't actually do anything then?" That's not what Narcissa had said.
"Nothing that mentions your marriage to me. As long as that topic is avoided
they can do whatever they think will further their own agenda. Right now though
they don't have a single idea how to use either of us. So I wouldn't worry
about it if I were you."
That relaxed her somewhat. As odd as it was Barty hadn't lied to her yet, and
this did effect both of them to some degree so she doubted he would start now.
Especially after reprimanding her all those times about her own lack of
honesty. "I should send the letter. If the Ministry does have plans Cuthota
should know about it then, right?"
"Yes." She turned her head away slightly when his finger was on her cheek.
There was a grip on her chin a second later, making her face him, though she
kept her eyes lowered. "Hermione," She kept her gaze firmly on a thread of the
couch inbetween them. "you going to look at me?"
"No." The word came out in a whisper. She squeezed her eyes shut, but the feel
of his skin on hers was still there, and the whispering in her mind wasn't loud
enough for her to hear. "Surely you Death Eaters could have picked someone else
to get information out of other than me?"
"Someone besides you? A best friend of Harry Potter himself?" When he put it
that way her question had been a stupid one to ask.
"I wish..." she took in a slow breath so she could force the words out, "I wish
I had been thrown in Azkaban." Instead of having to marry you, she barely
contained those last words, not wanting a repeat of yesterday's events. The
only thing she could hear was his breathing, which seemed to have gotten
louder. She forced the whimper to stay in her throat.
"Does that decision also have to do with protecting your friends?" It certainly
would have made it easier. That family wouldn't have died because of her.
"Would you really be satisfied sitting in a cell for a year while Voldemort
goes about killing them?" Her shoulders tensed. No, that was something she
would never be able to live down. "Shall I assume you would have liked to stay
known as Hermione Granger?"
"I still am Hermione Granger." She wasn't able to hold back the anger in her
voice. "Changing my last name doesn't change who I am."
His chuckle just made her shoulders raise. "Indeed." The following silence made
her bite at her lip nervously. It was almost enough to make her open her eyes
but she managed to keep them shut. "Bellatrix used to be less insane."
Her heart thundered in her chest. "What's that suppose to mean?"
His breath was suddenly hot on her ear, running down her cheek. "Do you really
think I would let you go insane? You can wish all you like, but you will deal
with reality. Is that understood?" Her whimper slipped out this time only to
feel skin running along her cheek shortly after, it felt as if he was nuzzling
her flesh... "I believe we've discussed this before. You're mine, and you're
going to stay mine. So don't be thinking that running to Azkaban will do you
any good."
"I'm not running." she muttered, trying to turn her face away from him but his
grip on her chin only tightened. "It was just a thought."
"Then, don't ever think about it again." The way his voice lowered to a tone
remnant of a growl made her skin crawl.
"I'm not going to go insane." Hermione slowly opened her eyes, breath catching
at his close proximity. It only served to remind her of Saturday, not exactly
her least liked day of this weekend, but it brought up things she would rather
not think about again. She licked her lips unconsciously, heart beating loud in
her ears.
Just turn a bit more, like last time, more than last time. That's all she would
need to do. Her head was already turning, the fingers no longer a hindrance as
they had fallen away from her chin. Just once.
It repeated in her head just like it had on Saturday. Just once, without being
forced.
Her eyes were almost closed when she stopped turning, breath mingling with his.
It was the only thing she could hear. She leant forward slowly, backing off
once before inclining until her lips pressed to his. They were as soft as she
remembered and she parted her lips not allowing herself to think too much as
her tongue darted out to run along his lips in a single slow motion. When she
felt his lips part her kiss was hesitant, breath shaking as she tilted her head
ever so slightly. She put a bit more force into it this time, kissing along his
upper lip, tongue drawing over the bottom one, never venturing further than
that.
Tick.
The old clock chimed when it hit the hour mark, Hermione's eyes shot open. Her
breath came quick as she was suddenly looking directly into his eyes. She was
in motion a second later, jumping up from the couch and grabbing her school
robe. Her hand went to the pocket just as she took a fist of floo powder,
checking her wand was there while leaving the letter. It was. She flung the
powder down so green flames sprung up around her.
A second later she was walking out of the Gryffindor fireplace, surprising a
few first procrastinators hurrying to write essays due that morning.
"Hermione!"
She whirled at the sound of her name to feel arms wrap around her a moment
later. Ginny was grinning at her and she had to surpress the feeling of guilt
that ran through her. To be kissing Remus' attacker hardly a minute before and
then being hugged by her friend. It didn't feel right. "Hey, Ginny." She wished
her voice sounded more enthusiastic though Ginny didn't seem to notice.
"It's so good to see you back! So you just use the floo network to go see
Blaise? Stay with your parents during the night?"
"Umm yeah." Hermione managed to get out as Ginny had already started moving to
the door leading out onto the moving staircases. Where were all these questions
suddenly coming from?
Ginny was giving her on odd look now though that they were on the platform.
"Did you stay over at his place?"
Hermione's mouth practically dropped. "What? No!" How could she even think
that?
Her friend only laughed though. "I didn't mean it seriously. There's enough
rumors going around about it though. You wouldn't believe how crazy they keep
getting. The things these gossipers come up with." There was a pause. "You did
look kind of dazed when you came in. What were you doing?"
Her heart practically stopped. Having to tell her that-she couldn't. She needed
an excuse, but her mind was drawing a blank. "Uh-Harry! Ron!" She waved when
she saw the two descending the stairs, heading toward them. That was a little
odd. It was only the morning, had they been sneaking around the castle again?
"Hey Hermione. Have you heard about the prank the Slytherins are doing? On the
whole school? Today?"
She blinked. Since when was that news? Though a prank on the whole school was
quite ambitious even for them, and she had no doubt Malfoy was apart of it.
"No. What is it?"
"No idea." Ron said with a grin.
"I thought it was only on the first years?" Ginny asked her brother.
"What effects one year effects all years." Ron glanced to Hermione then.
"Please tell me you realize that since Blaise is friends with Malfoy he's
probably apart of it as well." She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.
"I'm just saying, Hermione. Your to-be husband is a two-faced git."
"That's very mature of you Ronald." She patted him on the shoulder before
turning and starting down the stairs. "I'll give you six points for
originality."
"What? I deserve twenty!"
The sound of her friends laughter followed her down the stairs to the next
platform where Harry moved into the hallway. Seeing the others going down the
hall she followed, wondering why they were taking the long route to the Great
Hall.
"So we were thinking while you were gone-" Ginny began, turning to face
Hermione while walking backwards.
"And looking through the library." Ron cut in.
Ginny continued as if he hadn't said a thing, not even glancing at her brother,
"-about that puzzle box and what you said. About it being like Pandora's box,
and we found that in ancient times-like Egypt-that the witches and wizards of
those times would use puzzle boxes to hide all sorts of things inside them.
Like a safe. A combination between magic and puzzle-solving was used to open
them. So with that we figured-"
"That the box contained some item within it, like a weapon."
Ginny turned swiftly to look at who had spoken. "I expect this from Ron, not
you Harry."
Harry just smiled while Ron laughed. "It goes with your theory though. Ron
actually found the information."
"Yeah. By the way, thanks for stealing my spotlight mate."
Hermione let out a laugh with Ginny. It was all great news, but she still
wasn't sure she should be hearing about it. Then again, the idea itself wasn't
a big stretch and it's not like they knew what was inside. Information like
this was probably something the Death Eaters knew about- "So those spells they
were casting was to open it, not charge it."
"Exactly." Ginny said with a nod, doing a little skip before walking again.
"Essentially you need to say a phrase through magic, different spells to make
the phrase and then in the right order. That's how most of them are opened.
There's a few odd balls that are a bit more tricky that have an extra phrase or
need more than one witch or wizard present to open, but other than that it's
pretty simple." Ginny paused. "Well, simple once you solve the puzzle.
Otherwise according to the books their a pain to crack open. Sometimes they
even unleash energy at a wrong spell, or certain ones that are far off from
what the box requires to open. It's a risky business opening them."
"Which explains why there was so many Death Eaters there. Since they're putting
so much man power into it I would say they know it's a weapon, but maybe-
probably, not what it is. Unfortunately without knowing what the box looks like
we can't figure out what ancient civilization it came from." Harry explained.
"It would help if we knew what language they were speaking in for the spells.
Remus would know, and he is getting out of hospital today." Hermione blinked.
He had been in there for over a week? "The nurses kept him there. Something
about making sure no whiplash came back from the spells."
She grimaced. What the hell had Barty done to Remus? Whiplash from a spell
after this amount of time? What twisted dark magic had he cast? Then again, she
really didn't want to think about it. When she did it just made her blood run
cold, she could see her friends bodies twitching on the ground from her dream
again, hear her own desperate cry for Barty to stop as he tortured them. The
color of blood painted over walls, a stinging pain on-
"Hermione." A pair of hands landed on her shoulders and she barely managed to
keep in a pained cry when she saw it was Ginny standing infront of her. "Are
you okay?'
It took her a moment to steady her breath, all too aware of Ron and Harry
giving her worried looks. "Yeah. It-I've just been having nightmares lately...
sorry."
"It's nothing to apologize about." Harry assured her, to which Hermione just
gave a small nod of her head. "You want to talk about it?"
She could feel her face go pale. "No. I-I don't want to think about it. I
can't."
"Okay, okay. Calm down." Ginny's hands slipping from her shoulders down her
arms in a comforting gesture only made her think of Barty's fingers moving over
her skin not to long ago and she shivered. "Let's just go to the Great Hall and
have some breakfast, that should make you feel better."
Hermione gave another nod, slipping her hands from Ginny's when her friend
glanced away for a moment. Her friends engaged in a conversation about the new
Gryffindor Quidditch team, after awhile Harry had slipped out of it, and
Hermione didn't fail to notice that he had slowed his pace to walk beside her.
"Has everything been going okay? With you and Blaise I mean."
She glanced to him, catching his eye before looking forward again as they
walked. "Yeah, it's fine, really."
"What about your parents? How have they been about it?"
Her pace slowed further at this question. She had been avoiding thinking about
it, even though she needed to do something about that, especially after what
she had told her mother... Taking in a breath she muttered, "We got into a
fight. I told my mother-" Hermione stopped herself short, letting out a small
laugh. What she had said had been a mistake. She was thankful her parents
didn't have a way to contact her in the wizarding world. If her mother knew
about howlers she surely would have gotten one, and that would have been plain
embaressing. Not to mention all the implications that would cause. "I lied to
her, about where I with the marriage law. She's probably been freaking out
these last fews days, crying and... everything. About her daughter being a
mother to soon."
Harry was silent for a moment and then, "You didn't say you were pregnant did
you?"
That caused her to laugh. "No, no. Just... I told her I was married because she
wasn't listening to what I was saying. I just... blew up I guess." It wasn't a
complete lie, but she certainly couldn't tell him. She couldn't risk Harry
getting himself thrown in Azkaban because of her.
"Maybe if they speak with the Weasleys they'll understand it more?'
"Maybe." she agreed. It was something she could try atleast. When she got
around to clearing up the slipped out truth. Her dad was probably going just as
crazy as her mother...
Boom!
Her head shot up, looking toward the entrance of the Great Hall. "That must be
from the prank the Slytherins are pulling."
"Harry, how did you and Ron know they were doing it today?" she asked, glancing
toward him.
The corner of his lip twitched up. "We overheard some other Slytherins talking
about it just last night while sneaking into the... well." He grinned at her as
they entered the Great Hall, obviously not going to finish that sentance where
other students could hear. It didn't take much for her to guess where they had
gone though after everything they had told her.
Her gaze moved to the Great Hall as a collection of laughter and screams filled
the air. A group of first years had just dived under the nearest table from
what appeared to be a black blob flying through the air. She didn't necesarily
find that strange though after everything she had seen the Slytherins pull. It
was the fact that more than just the Slytherin table was laughing. Most of the
higher years were laughing as well, shooting spells at the whirling black so it
went zipping from one end of the room to the next in seconds. That and the
Professors already sitting at the long-end table were oddly enough not doing
anything to stop it.
The reason for that came clear when it finally stopped long enough to form a
shape in front of a first year, having been directed by one of the Slytherins'
spells. It had formed into a butterfly and the kid shrieked and hid behind the
nearest student who was practically clutching their stomach as they laughed.
A friend to their right let out a shout and the butterfly landed on the
Hufflepuff bench, twirling once more before forming a bear, the bench cracking
under the weight. The roar that was let loose was soon drowned from the
constant laughter in the room.
Hermione couldn't resist rolling her eyes as the bear twisted into something
else only to be hit by a spell mid-change. Ginny and Ron openly laughed infront
of them as they made their way to the Gryffindor table, ducking once when the
creature sailed past their heads.
"Incoming!" A playful shout erupted to her right and she slammed to a halt as
something with wings crashed to the ground barely a foot away. The pixie raised
it's head slowly still looking dazed even as it growled at the children around
it, gaze moving around the crowd before settling on Hermione. It bared small
fangs as the boggart's form twisted once again.
She felt a wave of dread wash over her before it even solidified. Just before
the black wisps collected together into a robe, a pair of dark familiar eyes
looking at her, the mouth-his mouth-twisted into a grin, tongue swiping at the
side just as it had back in fourth year.
A scream pierced the air, though her own mouth was clamped shut. She could feel
her blood running cold, knew her face was pale as she stood stock still.
Even when he had disapearred as the creature blurred once again a part of her
was still convinced he had really been there. A single thought of why? And, is
he real? Wandered through her mind when the Dementor came out to be transformed
into a tap dancing coat at Harry's shouted, "Riddikulus!"
A hand was on her wrist in the next second, leading her to an empt seat of the
Gryffindor. She wasn't sure when she had swung her legs over the bench but she
must have as she was now sitting down.
"Bloody Slytherins." Harry muttered to her left.
Ron went on to agree and she lowered her head into her hands, closing her eyes.
It didn't take long for her to dissolve into the whispers in her mind, feeling
a ghost of skin on hers, surrounded by nothing.
Her body was being shaken almost violently when she forced her eyes open.
"Hermione-" Ginny hissed, "Oh! Good, you looked out of it. Are you okay?"
She was silent for a moment as she saw Ginny looked worried. "Yeah. Where...
where did it go?" The laughter from before wasn't there anymore, instead it was
just the noise from normal conversations flying around the room.
"McGonagall got rid of the boggart and said she was going to talk to Professor
Snape about the Slytherins and a punishment for those involved in bringing it
into the Great Hall."
"They should be expelled." Ron proclaimed while stabbing a fluffy egg with his
fork.
Ginny sighed. "I explained to her that you had been having nightmares after
what happened at my house."
"Thanks." Hermione managed, reaching out to grab a glass of juice and take a
sip. She didn't want to think about it anymore, she needed something normal,
like getting food into her body. Before she could take any food and put it on
her plate there was a soft hoot just before an owl landed on the table. The
varying shades of soft grey feathers ruffled for a moment after.
"It seems we got a straggler."
"Atleast it can land." Harry said as he glanced toward Ron.
Hermione ignored the bickering that came from the comment on Ron's family owl,
her eyes on the blue wax keeping the letter enclosed that was tied to it's leg.
Ravenclaws' color, his color. She reached out hesitantly to take it, the owl
ruffling it's feathers again, not moving from the table as she broke the seal
to read the contents.
                              Will this suffice?
"What is it?"
Hermione slowly closed the parchment containing the short note. "It... it's
mine." At the curious look she was getting from her friends as well as a few of
the students sitting near them she clarified, "My owl."
***** Chapter 15 *****
Chapter Notes
     New pov!
The Weasley girl was looking over at their table after an owl had landed.
Daphne only took note because it was late for any owls to be arriving. Now
though she was wondering why some of the Gryffindors were shooting looks at the
Slytherin table.
Only two reasons came to mind, either they were still angry at the whole House
after a select few had tricked a boggart into the Great Hall, or a new rumor of
her fiance and Granger had started up again. She didn't care for the latter. It
would be nice if everyone just let it go, she supposed they kept romanticizing
it because of the difference in blood status. That the ritual had set them
together despite even that. Supposedly being the key word here. It would be
nice when she saw their faces when the truth came out.
Just not yet. She still wasn't ready for that. To have everyone staring at her,
not even seventeen yet and already matched. She had expected to be out of
Hogwarts for a few years before being married. Once she turned of age four
months would be given for her to wed. In that way she considered herself lucky,
getting to have more time to know Blaise before any of it happened.
The marriage, the marriage night itself.
That was something neither of them had talked about since he had come to her,
seemingly appearing out-of-the-blue. Another reason she was lucky. He hadn't
just gone and told everyone about his match before she even knew herself. He
had told her before even telling his best friend Draco. That had certainly been
a moment to change her life, and Daphne would always remember every detail of
it.
Her steps made no sound as she rounded a corner, dodging Filch's cat. The furry
beast, it should have stayed petrified since her second year. It was a bloody
menace, always lurking about and then yowling loudly to startle anyone sneaking
about the castle at night.
Kind of like she was now. Darting to shadows and remaining out of the moonlight
when she had to pass by windows. Running down the stairs back into the
dungeons, snaking her way back to the entrance of the Commons and slipping
inside with a triumphant grin.
The embers of the dying fire was the only light as she descended the last few
steps to the stone floor. She moved over to the hearth, hands hovering over it
to soak in the remaining bit of warmth.
Her hand trailed to her pocket not long after, seeking out the artifact she had
found in the room beyond a plain wall. A soft knock made her turn her head, to
look into the gloom and see one of her fellow classmates was still up. "Is
there a reason you're hiding in the shadows, Zabini?" she had moved her hand
away from her side as she spoke, standing back up as she frowned at him.
Draco's friend and one of the reasons that Slytherins were jinxed in the halls
after a particularly nasty prank. Probably the main reason she had gotten so
good at dodging them in the past few years.
"Can we talk?"
Her brow furrowed. What a silly request to make of her. They were already
talking anyway, why ask? "What could you possibly have to talk to me about?"
"Somewhere with less ears."
He soon passed by her, going to the door and out of the Commons, not looking
back once. As if he expected for her to follow him. As if she cared to talk to
him. Even if they were in the same House, it didn't mean she had to associate
herself with him. Though, his tone of voice suggested it was important, urgent,
something she would want to know.
She followed him a second later, back out of the home of the snakes, into the
halls. Her feet led her to the right, to an open door of a room regularily used
by all Syltherins for meetings. An obvious choice considering how late it was.
There were others like it but it was far too late to use them.
Her hand wrapped around the handle, closing the door behind her. "So, what is
it then?"
He had only reached out his hand, a piece of paper rolled inbetween his
fingers. She took it after a moment, took out her wand and muttered, "Lumos."
to create a soft light so she could see the words.
Blaise started speaking even when she was only beginning to skim the letter, "I
recieved it just an hour ago. I would have told you sooner but you weren't in
the Commons or your room." She had begun to frown as she listened to him,
wondering why this was so important that it shouldn't have been put off for
even an hour. "You'll probably want to send a letter to your parents
afterwards, I can show you a quick route to the owelry."
She was about to ask why she would do such a thing when she spotted her name.
Her name right after the paper talked of a system, a pairing. In other words
the ritual and given match.
For a moment her mouth didn't work, stunned to see this infront of her. Stunned
even further that she hadn't recieved a letter about this. "You get a letter,
but I don't?" Her gut twisted. "You think that's acceptable?"
He shook his head. "No, that's why I'm telling you. The Ministry would have
sent yours when you turned seventeen." His head inclined to the paper and she
glanced back down, now reading through it quickly in the silence.
She could almost see her world turn to glass and shatter around her. "They
wouldn't have said a thing till my birthday?" Ridiculous. She scoffed a moment
later, "Youget to choose to tell me or not about the arrangement before then?
What-pricks! The lot of them!"
"Yes, as you can see I didn't agree with them-"
"Good. Filthy little codgers," she blinked when he hadn't said anything and
glanced up to see he looked slightly amused in the light from her wand. "What?"
"You have a very filthy mouth yourself."
She narrowed her eyes at him just before she laughed, "Show me to the owelry,
Blaise Zabini, or I'll be calling you a codger next."
Looking back at the table now she frowned. They were still focusing on them,
inclined heads obviously intended for whispering. She met each of their gazes
until they stopped, then glanced towards Blaise, sitting a few spaces down from
her own seat.
It would be odd if they were suddenly seen together, even more so now with the
agreement between him and Granger. During the week anyways, it was pure luck
that they had every weekend together. Thanks to whoever was Granger's real
match.
She found herself curious of who it was. Why Granger would hide the man she was
to be married to. At some point she would know, along with everyone else.
Perhaps a day after she tells Blaise she's ready to have it brought out to the
open. That would interest her greatly.
                                     / / /
Mum,
I know I should have wrote back sooner but with everything happening in the
Wizarding World its been a bit hectic, and hard to find an owl, until today
that is. I'm sorry about what I said, from before, it's not true. You can ask
the Weasley's yourself if you don't believe me. I'm sure they'll invite you to
the twins' marriages.
Her quil hesitated, because it had been the truth. It was now that she was
lying to her mother, and father as he was sure to read the letter as well. She
sighed, glancing out the window to her right to look over the school grounds.
From here in a corner of the library she got a nice view of the Forbidden
Forest. That and hardly anyone came to this section, which made it least likely
for anyone to find her here.
Her friends were somewhere else within the large room, looking for more
information about the puzzle box. This little area was her sanctuary. So she
didn't have to hear anymore of their ideas. Of course, she had a backup if they
did find it. The Room of Requirement would always be the first on that list.
They could look at their Marauder's Map as much as they wanted but wouldn't
find her no matter what. That was only for Friday though, because they would
think she had already left with Blaise for the weekend. If she did it any other
day then one of them would figure it out eventually and find her.
She turned her gaze back to the parchment and took hold of the quil once again.
As she wrote more lies and told them what truths she could-like her new owl-her
mind went to the fast approaching weekend. These days it always seemed to come
too fast and just like all the other times she didn't know what to expect when
she got there.
The main question was what mood he would be in when she got there. It was
entirely possible that the Order might make fools of the Death Eaters during
the week, the day before the weekend, or even the other way around. Each
possibility could very well give her an idea of what would happen.
He might just have her in his lap like he had most of last weekend, touching
her skin every second. Considering everything else he might do she prefered
that. It was better than being tortued or sick anyways.
Setting her quil aside she rolled the parchment up and attached it to the
greater sooty owl's leg. She popped the window open a moment later and watched
as he flew out before closing it.
It was likely her mother would send a letter screaming and apologizing at the
same time. Unless it was her father, then she would probably be asked to come
directly to the house to explain the law. Thing was, she had already described
it to her mother and let the truth slip out in the start of an argument. If she
went back there was a chance it would happen again. Which was unacceptable.
Hermione leaned back into her seat, closing her eyes.
She could hear his voice again, not the individual words from Saturday but a
simple flow of words that seemed to melt together. It was calming and she was
still unsure how this couldn't be a spell he had cast. Surely there was some
dark magic that did this. She could always get another request form from
Slughorn to go into the Restricted Section and look it up instead of whatever
was written down. The reason she didn't was because it didn't feel like a
spell, and she didn't believe it was, that he would do something that
manipulative.
It would be a low blow, lower than taking her into that torture room. Atleast
she hadn't seen the inside of it again on her last visit. She hoped to keep it
that way. She didn't want to know what else he had in there.
She opened her eyes to chase away the flames flickering behind her closed lids
that had begun to form as the memory surfaced. Hermione wrapped her arms around
her body, rubbing lightly at her arms to stop the cold feeling that had settled
there. She found the action oddly comforting, perhaps she gotten used to it. Or
it was simply the memory of last Saturday that made her think that.
Barty had been doing the same thing on Monday morning as well, she distinctly
remembered not liking it then, so decided it was the latter. Though with the
way her mind was going it just kept drawing up more memories. Like when his
fingers moved along her back, thin scars closing at their touch, pushing her
naked form against his robed one, eyes half-closed as she listened to his heart
beat beneath it, him not saying a word even when she felt every scar was gone
and it was just his hand moving up and down her back...
Her hands stopped moving as she stared down at the desk, breath catching as her
mind spun. He had been silent that entire time, but all those lingering fingers
had spoken for him. Whispering over her skin, sometimes seeming to carve the
letters on her, sorry, again and again.
***** Chapter 16 *****
Chapter Notes
     Please leave a comment if you like the story.
Her footsteps echoing down the hall was all she heard as she walked. Usually
she would hear more pairs of shoed feet on the stone, students speaking in a
variety of tones depending if they cared if someone heard what they said or
not. Though anyone close enough in passing would hear the soft whispers. It was
gossip, most of the time. She always walked too quickly to hear what they were
saying anyways. Simply not caring.
Right now though the quiet sent a shiver down her spine.
Why did Barty have to pick such an odd time for the 'timed portkeys' to go off?
Why did he have to put the spell on earrings? To force her to wear them? What
was the spell?
She had looked in the library for answers to most of those questions, the ones
a book could answer. But she hadn't found anything. There was no mention of
making a portkey 'timed'. It was simply 'activated' when someone touched the
object with the spell cast upon it.
Hermione must have tried a million times to simply activate it as she studied
the spell that made portkeys. Nothing had worked. No matter how she had touched
the earrings, where she touched them, they just wouldn't make the world spin.
It was frustrating. It still frustrated her. Not a single book-and every book
that mentioned portkeys was accessible, there was none in the Restricted
Section on the subject-had helped in her search. Either he was using the term
portkey when the earrings were no such thing, or he had tweaked the spell for
his own purposes.
Honestly, she wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter. After seeing the
marks in the yearbook for herself and the fact that he casted a multitude of
spells without saying a word-or even using a wand-she wouldn't put it past him.
She stopped short at one of the windows overlooking the courtyard. The sky
above was showing just a tinge of gray as dawn approached. As five o'clock drew
near.
Her fingers clutched at the small bag at her side, carrying a few things to
take up room in the dresser as well as a few things for her bathroom. She
hadn't bothered with any pajamas she liked though, not wanting another one to
get torn up. Hoping another one wouldn't end up getting torn from her body.
Raising a hand she pressed her fingers to the glass, cold seeping into her skin
as she pressed her palm to the cool surface. The clock stationed high above
rung at the top of the hour and Hermione kept her eyes open to watch as the
world stayed gray, swirling around her, the color draining around her, becoming
darker when the spinning finally stopped. There was no gray light spilling onto
the floor boards and she sighed. This place wasn't even in the same timeframe
as Hogwarts. It made her wonder where she even was. Of course Barty would only
say it was their home.
With a sigh she stepped from the fireplace-
Seeing her bag land several feet in front of her wasn't the thing that made her
stop. It wasn't even the sting on her hand when it was knocked from her grip.
It was the fingers curled around her wrist, keeping her in place. A pair of
dark eyes looking down at her when she turned her head.
"Barty?" Something must have gone wrong while she was away. "Please, let go of
me." Her wrist had started to hurt but she didn't dare pull it toward her. In
her previous experience that wouldn't help her situation, and she would rather
stop this before it reached that point. "Whatever happened it was the Order. I
didn't do anything-"
There was a soft snort that had made her stop short. "Already pleading for your
mistake? You make a lousy Crouch." She stared at him. Mistake? What mistake? He
must have seen the confusion in her eyes, the way her lips parted to ask as his
other hand was soon covering her mouth. "I won't hear it." There it was. That
growl beneath the words.
She cringed, drawing back only to have her wrist pulled on to keep her from
getting any further away. "Please," Hermione attempted to speak around the hand
on her mouth, "don't do this." Not again. The feel of his hand seemed to have
relaxed and she raised a hand to pull his fingers slowly from her mouth so she
could speak clearer. A sense of relief went through her when he did nothing to
stop her movements. "Barty, I don't know wha-" The way his eyes darkened quicky
made her try another tactic, "Whatever it is that has upset you... I'm sorry,
but don't take it out on me." She paused, trying to gauge what she should say
next as his expression hadn't changed in the least. "I don't have anything to
do with it. I was at school the whole week-"
"Hermione," she pressed her lips together, wondering if it had worked as his
voice didn't sound particularly angry. "you are terrible at manipulating
people. So don't try it on me."
Her heart seemed to drop directly into her stomach, getting slowly eaten away
by the acid. "I-I'm not. I swear, Barty. I just-" she closed her eyes for a
moment to try and rein in her thoughts, to stop the panicked rush of words
spilling forth from her. "I don't know what you want me to say." Opening her
eyes she looked at him but he wasn't saying anything, he seemed like he was
waiting for her to say the right words even when she obviously kept failing at
doing so. She sighed, trying to think of what he could possibly be talking
about but quickly gave up. It's not like she could read his mind. What the hell
did he expect? "What mistake did I supposedly make?" she snapped at him in
frustration.
The moment those words were out she wished she could take it back. If she
hadn't made a mistake before she had now. For a second she could see him
glaring at her and then her whole body was spun around to be shoved forward and
she stumbled, landing on the couch. She sucked in a breath to refill her lungs,
trying to even out her breathing as she heard him walking over. A whimper
escaped her just before a hand grabbed her leg just below the knee, dragging
her back toward him.
"You want to know what I want you to say?" She twisted her head to look at him
over her shoulder, upon seeing his gaze she knew the question was rhetorical.
"I don't want you to speak at all." His hand made a casual flicking motion and
she felt cold a moment later. Her eyes widened and she kicked back at him with
her other leg to feel a hand grab at her thigh as her body was pulled over the
arm of the furniture.
"No!" A hand left her leg to wrap around her jaw a second later after her
shout.
"What did I just say Hermione?" His grip made the bone beneath her skin throb.
If bones could actually get a bruise she was sure she could feel them
developing. "Not a word." Her lips that had been trembling in their attempt to
get something, anything out stopped abruptly at his words. He must have been
satisfied with that reaction as he let go, his hand moving down to her throat
and she closed her eyes unable to stop the whimpers as the hand on her leg
trailed up, no longer pulling her body around. Fingers dug into her waist and
she immediately started to squirm beneath him.
The chuckle from above made her freeze in place, her hair was moved and his
breath was on her neck a moment later. "You can't be doing that on purpose."
She could only whimper in response. There had been a threat in his words from
before, and even if she didn't know what the threat was she wasn't willing to
find out. "Why did you stop?" Hermione closed her eyes as if that would help to
keep her from hearing his voice. "Come on, do it again."
She pressed her forehead onto the couch cushion wishing he would stop already.
If he was going to do it she would rather he just do it, instead of what he was
doing now. Not even inside her and she already felt tears running down her
face. She knew what he was getting at and the slow way he went about it just
made her want to scream.
"No?" There was a sigh against her throat and she shivered. "Am I going to have
to ask nicely? Or-" she let out a yelp when there was a sudden sting on her
cheek and she quivered. "Almost, but not quite. Should I try again?" she bit
down on her lip, to stop herself from shaking her head. From giving him the
satisfaction of a response.
It was silent for awhile but as he said nothing she just cried harder, even
more when her body shook with the sobs. "Hermione," she pressed her face into
the damp cushion, trying to escape. If she could burrow her way to China she
would. "squirm for me." Reluctantly she wriggled for a few seconds, hoping that
would be enough for him. That she could lock herself in her room and dive under
the bed soon. "Did I tell you to stop?"
Her body jerked when his hand fell on her arse again. Head raising slightly,
fingers curling on the ripped fabric to keep herself from sliding too far
forward with the hit, lips parting for the whine held in her throat to slip
through.
She stilled a moment later. That continuous stroke of his thumb on her waist
had stopped even though it had been consistent since his hand had grabbed her
there. "Well, that's interesting." Her cheeks burned and Hermione pressed her
face into the cushion, opening her mouth to clamp on the threads. As if the bad
taste would somehow overcome her embarrassment.
Had he never heard of other ways besides slapping to make the effect he had
wanted? Due to his surprise he hadn't caught on the first time his hand had
struck her. Just thinking about it made the tips of her ears go red and she
tried to bury her head further in the couch with no success.
"Hermione-"
"Don't." she had raised her head quickly upon hearing him speak. "Not a word,
please."
His grip tightened on her waist and she lowered her head once again, closing
her eyes and hoping this would be over quickly and that she wouldn't have to
look him in the eyes for the rest of her life. Mostly she just wanted to murder
the person of the Ministry who wrote down that married couples from the ritual
needed to do this once a week.
She almost had the whole scene drawn perfectly in her mind as he pounded into
her until she felt his fingers in her hair, twisting around the strands. A loud
cry left her when his hand jerked her head up from the couch, pain lancing
through her scalp. It shattered the scene in her mind, bringing her back to the
present.
Aware of him behind her, hips thrusting forward to meet hers. Of the awkward
angle her back now made as he kept a tight grip on her hair. Even more so of
what he was implying by doing such a thing.
She closed her eyes, the tears running quickly down her cheeks but she wasn't
able to escape from it this time.
His breath was soon on her neck, tongue moving across the skin first before his
mouth had latched on. He was tracing that scar again and she briefly thought of
taking a knife to cut the scar off afterwards. That thought quickly left. She
could barely deal with this pain, and she could still remember his teeth
tearing into her throat. She may think it, but she would never go through with
it.
Sobs ripped their way up her throat, not stopping even when he withdrew from
her, his hand finally letting go of her hair. She didn't make any move to catch
herself when she fell forward fresh tears still running down her cheeks.
"Get up."
When she made no move to get up she felt his fingers in her hair again, pulling
up quickly and she followed the movement with a pained cry. Her hands went up
quickly this time, trying to untangle his from hers, but he just dragged her
from the couch and she struggled to keep up with his quick steps as he led her
down the hall.
Her fingers stopped removing strands from between his fingers when he stopped
infront of the door. Thatdoor. She glanced toward him but he was already
opening it and she could barely keep down a scream when it was still as dark as
the last time. Still unable to see anything inside. Just that terrified her,
and now he was pulling her inside the room once again.
She dug her heels into the floor but was soon stumbling forward after him,
hissing softly when her hair was tugged at a particular angle. "Barty-"
"Shut up." He pulled her to a halt and the only thing she could see was that a
large space infront of him was darker than the rest of the room. She was almost
positive it was the only thing she had seen the last time she was in here. "You
wanted to know why, didn't you?" Hermione looked up at him, hands still
entangled in her own hair. That's what she had been about to ask when he had
interupted. If she was going to be in this room she wanted to know the reason
for it. What he had planned is another, but she doubted he would just tell her
that. "You're a lyin-"
"I'm not a liar!" At the expression on his face she bit her lip, slowly
lowering her hands. "There were a few times, yes, but I haven't said anything
dishonest for weeks. I haven't." she glanced to the thing shrouded in dark
ahead of her, wanting to avoid it at all costs. If it was anything like what
happened here the other time she wanted to get out if she could. "I-"
"You are a manipulative bitch." she stared at him, unhinged by his words, "You
really think I'm stupid, don't you?"
"No." she murmured, wanting to back away from his glare but unable.
"'No.' You should have said that as your answer. No creature, human, half-
human, or otherwise trusts what it fears, even a little bit." she blinked as a
foul taste filled her mouth. The boggart. He had heard about it, he must have.
"Figured that out, did you now?" His face was suddenly right infront of hers
and she jerked back, hissing at the burn it created in her scalp. "Maybe you'll
keep that in mind for the next few hours." Hours? The thought was snapped from
her mind when her head was yanked back. "Also," a finger traced up her throat
and she trembled. "don't think for a second that you can twist my words and use
what I say against me. I won't fall for that again."
His finger stopped at her lips and she flinched, understanding flickering
through her eyes. "I didn't-"
"Liar." Metal creaked behind her and she became aware that his hand had left
her hair. A hand pressed her backward and she tripped back over a metal ridge.
"No!" she yelped a second later both from the cold that seeped into her, and
the splash sounding from the water she had fallen into. "Please!" Hermione
threw herself at the metal door that was closing infront of her. "Barty! I-" It
clanged shut and she slumped against the door, not paying the least bit of
attention to the slosh of water around her.
She raised her hand slowly to touch at her lips before glancing down to the
water she couldn't see. Her hand fell a second later to slip in the dark and
she pressed her forehead to the metal.
Hours, that's what he had said. Though he was gone... did he plan to just leave
her in here? Must be.
She closed her eyes to hold back any more tears and turned so her back was
pressed to the metal.
If not for this law she wouldn't have had to come back here. She wouldn't have
been here at all. She wouldn't be in a situation like this, having managed to
hurt Barty after all the times he hurt her. Though, hers hadn't been
intentional.
She gritted her teeth to hold back any whimpers or sobs, whichever were trying
to leave her first. Hermione wished she could say something to somebody, even
if she never would. She had run a million scenarios in her head since her
marriage and they all ended with her friends, members of the Order trapped in
Azkaban or being chased down by not only the Death Eaters but the Ministry as
well. It would always make it easier for the Wizarding World to fall and she
couldn't allow that.
Even if she had been given a choice of Azkaban or the marriage rather than
being... completely forced into it she would have chosen this just as Barty
said she would. She couldn't just sit trapped somewhere and watch the world
fall around her. Though she was trapped now.
Just for a few hours.
She reminded herself. Still, unable to do anything. Other than get half-blood
families killed. Maybe it would have been better if she was in Azkaban so she
couldn't damage the Order like that, like all the other ways she had, would in
the future. If the law made it so she couldn't leave this place... maybe that
would have been better.
Hermione forced her mind from the fantasies, were she couldn't be used as
another source of information for the Death Eaters. She squeezed her eyes shut.
There was still that promise she had made, from last weekend. Her friends had
told her about it, right after her depature as well. So fast. Everything kept
happening too fast. If she were to keep that promise she would need to tell
him.
She didn't think of herself as a liar... with a sigh she pushed the thought
away. Not wanting to focus on it any longer. Any of it. Not of people who
couldn't help her. Of those who wouldn't. Not the speck of hurt in Barty's eyes
as he shoved her inside this prison. Especially not that.
Instead she focused and opened her eyes a moment later.
She felt... as if she were floating. Pressing a hand down she found no floor
beneath her palm, just water. Now that she wasn't thinking she was ware that
she wasn't sitting on a floor covered in water. She was simply floating. How
was that possible?
Her heart had started to pound frantically, somehow thinking she had sunk
beneath the water even though she was breathing just fine. Could even feel the
water stopped just a few inches above her waist. Her hand lowered, still
searching for a floor and finding none. She whimpered and withdrew her hand
wrapping her arms around herself and pressing further against the closed door.
The only thing she was sure was solid in here. Something that didn't make her
feel lightheaded the more she thought of that endless water beneath her. Unsure
if there was something beneath it. If something was in here with her.
Why else would Barty stick her in here if there wasn't something inside to
bring her pain?
The sloshing of the water did nothing to ease her thoughts, if anything it just
made her more paranoid. Twisting her legs closer to her body the sound was only
enhanced as she tried to get in a more defensive position. Her hands raised to
clasp over he ears and she closed her eyes. Even so it was still dark, she
could still hear it, just more distantly.
She opened her eyes slowly, even with the knowledge that it would be just as
dark if not darker if she kept them closed. Instead, there was something
forming at the corner of her vision, something white, and with a strained cry
she turned her head and curled her body against the door.
"Barty!" Her hand hit the metal and it rang softly underneath her palm. "Let me
out!" When she glanced over her shoulder she didn't see anything for a second,
then there was red blooming across her vision and she turned quickly and closed
her eyes, yelling louder, hoping silently that he heard her cries to open the
door.
Her throat was starting to feel raw when the metal shifted and she pressed
forward to make it open faster. Working her arm through the opening first and
shoving at the door with her other hand, stumbling over the raised metal to the
stone floor when it had opened enough for her to slip through.
She could hear the door close behind her and glanced up to see Barty was
walking towards the hall. "Wait." Hermione went on even though he hadn't
stopped. "They," she took a moment to catch a breath after all her screaming
from before, "Harry and the others," his footsteps finally stopped and she
hurried on, "They said the box was from an ancient civilization, that it held
something, a weapon maybe. That to open it you need to, 'say a phrase through
magic'. Most of the time it's only one, in rare cases it needs more phrases, or
more than one witch or wizard for it to open. That if a magic spell cast on it
is far off from the correct phrase it will unleash that energy back on the
caster."
She had only paused to get another breath when he said, "Go to your room." and
moved into the hall.
Hermione whimpered softly, pressing her forehead to the stone.
***** Chapter 17 *****
Eventually Hermione made her way to her room, once she found it in herself to
get up off the stone she had ran there to fall on the bed and curl quickly
beneath the covers. She had stayed there the rest of the day, more or less
hiding until she remembered the bag she had brought from Gryffindor.
She got up from the bed, tiptoeing to the door and pressed her ear against it.
It was silent on the other side as far as she could tell. Still, she stayed
there for a few good long minutes before reaching down to wrap her hand around
the knob, pushing the door open slowly before stepping over the threshold. She
glanced down the hall to where it turned before looking towards the living
room. There was no scratching of a quill or anything else as far as she could
tell. There was her bag though, in the same place it had landed when Barty had
ripped it from her grasp.
Taking in a breath to gather what courage she had left she walked from the
hall, eyes darting around when she entered the living room. She sighed in
relief when she didn'tsee Barty anywhere and moved quickly to the discarded
bag, picking it up to hug to her still naked chest.
Even after she had calmed down in her room and looked around she hadn't been
able to find her robes anywhere. With a glance at the bench under the window
she walked over. It might be in there, though she didn't know why he would send
it there. Unless he had initially had other plans when she came here. She
leaned over, reaching out to retract her fingers a moment before touching the
lock that looked like a Raven's eye. When she did it seemed to follow the
movement. The thing was creepy, and when she raised a finger the air around it
seemed to crackle. With a sigh she backed off, not wanting to risk whatever
curse it might throw at her if she tried to open it.
Hermione turned around, wrapping her arm more securely over the bag, keeping it
close as she walked over to the kitchen. After searching through the cabinets
to find them empty she turned to the fridge and picked off some grapes from the
bottom shelf, stuffing them in her mouth then closed the electronic machine
that whirled softly, the only noise in the room besides the padding of her feet
walking across the tile floor. She managed to find a clean goblet and stuck it
in her bag along with the clothes before moving back to the hallway.
She stopped short when she saw him leaning against the corner of the wall, eyes
on her. Hermione bit at her lip to stop herself from asking how long he had
been standing there for, or what he wanted. She couldn't imagine either
question getting her anywhere with him, if he even bothered to answer. Instead
she glanced at the ground, to avoid looking at him.
Why couldn't he ever just stay in his room? She had been quiet in the hope that
he wouldn't hear her. So she didn't have to see him after everything that had
happened. If he was going to be here anyway though... she might as well try to
explain now when she hadn't been given a chance before.
"Barty," she tore her gaze from the ground to look at him, forcing her throat
to move, her vocal cords to work. "I-"
"If you're going to start with that 'I'm sorry' and 'please' crap again then go
in your room to do it." The way his hand moved then was obviously a sign for
her to leave, an invitation for her to go and crawl under the covers once more.
It was tempting. Especially when he was glaring at her like that again. When he
knew something about her no one else did. The only thing she was grateful for
right then was that he hadn't said a thing about it. Clearing her throat she
tried again, "Just let me explain-"
He pushed from the wall then. "I don't want to hear it. Keep whatever it is to
yourself." I can't, she wanted to scream. Why did he keep interrupting her? How
was she suppose to tell him when he wouldn't let her get the words out? How was
she suppose to get the words out?
With him already starting down the hall she scowled. "If you don't want to hear
it then why are you out here and not in your own room?" Hermione snapped,
taking a step forward.
Barty had stopped, glancing at her from over his shoulder, eyes still cold but
a flicker of amusement was held there. "It's my house, I can go wherever I
want."
"Our house." she corrected before she could stop herself. He turned to face her
and she clutched at her bag as if that would help her continue, "You, I-we're
married. It's not just yours." she took a breath, trying to sort her thoughts
out. This wasn't what she had wanted to speak about, to tell him. That was
fact, something the both of them already knew, even if it seemed occasionally
that it was forgotten.
A fact was what she needed. She had already heard his opinions on her the other
day, suffered through it even. He's the one that kept calling her dishonest.
She would give him the truth then.
"Whether you think I was lying-" seeing him about to speak she raised her
voice, narrowing her eyes at him, "-or not. Whatever your opinion of me, I kept
my promise. Even if I did lie before I'll promise you right now that it won't
happen again. Not a single word, syllable, vowel, whatever. I'm not going to
lie to you." she bit her lip before rushing forward, knowing he would
definitely try to interupt what she was about to say, discredit it. "And I
didn't lie before. I have no idea if I should even trust you or not. That's the
truth, so don't go calling me a liar."
The corner of his lip was curled by the end of it. "Why do you have to promise
it? You should be able to just do it."
Hermione mentally kicked the temptation to back away from the low tone of his
voice. "You have no right to say that!" she was shouting before she could stop
herself, body visibly shaking as anger crashed over her in waves. "I kept my
promise to you before! I haven't lied to you since that day! Don't you go
asking me 'why' or tell me that I should be able to, 'just do it.' You're the
one that doesn't trust me! I've kept the promise before, so the least you could
do is believe that I don't break my promises and take my word for it! I won't
have you calling me a lair again! I-" she struggled for a breath, "I won't have
you using me again! I refuse to be raped because of a law! I don't want your
filthy hands on me ever again!" her shoulders were raised now as she took deep
breaths, wondering what was going to happen to her now that she blew up at him
like that. She certainly wouldn't write torture off the list, or-
"Fine."
For a moment she stood still, the sounds of her heavy breathing stopping
momentarily. He couldn't possibly have just... had he? Or was it her mind
playing tricks on her? Fine... fine was just as good as a yes here. There was a
laugh bubbling up in her chest and she raised her hand to press a pair of
fingers to her lips and stop the sound from leaking out. If all she needed to
do to make it stop was this she would have done it sooner. Something so simple
as letting it out, and it had worked. A small relieved laugh escaped her then
and she quickly covered it by clearing her throat, "Good. I'm glad we're on the
same page."
When he didn't say anything her gaze flickered to find his, to see he had
turned his head, looking back down the hall instead of at her. She wasn't sure
if that itself was a good or bad sign but right now she was feeling slightly
optimistic at the very least. "And," she started slowly as she remembered what
he had said days ago, "I would appreciate it if you didn't talk to me like you
did last Sunday," she hesitated for a second. Hermione could have sworn she had
seen him flinch at those words. "or even how-I don't want a repeat of what
happened. Okay?" she waited, biting at her lip until he got the message that it
wasn't rhetorical and gave a small nod. "Not that I have any way to tell but,
if you could not think about using the imperius curse on me-"
She cut herself off with a short shriek before a hand was clamped over her
mouth, her bag had fallen from her arms to the ground when Barty moved quickly
towards her, and she was now staring at him with wide eyes. His own were
narrowed as he glared down at her, "I am not my father," the words came out in
a low hiss that made her want to scream all over again.
"I-I didn't say-" she tried to get the words out quickly even with his hand
obscuring the path.
"Then don'tspeak. I don't plan to use that spell on you, and I won't. If anyone
ever does that to you, you better pray that they go straight to hell before I
find them." his hand lowered from her mouth then, "Do me a favor and never
bring this up again, or anything remotely related to my father." She watched as
he turned and walked down the hall to disappear around the corner in a matter
of seconds.
After a few more seconds had passed she let out the breath she had been holding
and slowly lowered herself to the ground, arm reaching out and fingers fumbling
along the floor until finding the strap of her bag and curling around it. With
that retrieved she stood back up to walk the few steps forward to her own room.
When the door was closed firmly behind her she walked across the room to put
the bag down on the bed before getting on it herself. She stared at the gray
and red fabric for awhile, his words still whirling around in her head. How had
his father suddenly gotten into the conversation? She wasn't sure how that had
happened, or the fact that he had brazenly said that he would not only kill but
torture anyone that used the curse on her. In a way she was relieved. If he was
threatening to do that then he couldn't possibly be thinking of doing it to
her. There was also the fact that his eyes had darkened the same way as last
Sunday. For a moment she had thought a repeat of those events was about to
happen, before he let her go that is.
Something about that... the imperius curse seemed to piss him off. If he didn't
get so worked up when it was just mentioned she wanted to ask him about it, but
as things were she wasn't sure that was a good idea. She needed to find someone
to ask, so she could understand him, even if it was by just a smidge. It would
be easier for her to avoid making him angry then.
Hermione couldn't think up a single person that would have the answers, that
she could ask without raising suspicions. Pushing the thoughts to the back of
her mind she pulled the zipper to the bag down to start taking out the items.
Besides the goblet she had stuck in there that was now resting on the
nightstand it was all clothes. Not a lot, but enough for these weekends. Mostly
it just consisted of pajamas, knickers, a bra or two, and some muggle clothes.
She doubted she would ever go anywhere where she would need the latter one.
That Barty would even let her out of the house, much less to a city outing. She
could hope that she would be able to do the former at some point though. See if
it was true, that they really were out in the middle of nowhere.
Once she had the articles of clothing packed away in the dresser she turned her
attention to the goblet. She reached out a hand slowly to hover over the lip of
the glass, taking in a breath and focusing she murmured, "Aguamenti."
Drip.
She leaned over to the glass, leaning back with a frown. Only one drop. How the
bloody hell did Barty do a million and one spells without his wand? Closing her
eyes she concentrated again, letting the magic flow through her, to be what
channeled the energy instead of her wand. "Aguamenti."
She jolted slightly when a more continuous flow came about and looked back over
the lip to see it had filled by a tenth. Better than nothing she supposed.
Hermione drank the contents before setting the glass back down and kept
practicing the spell until it worked seamlessly.
When she fell back on the bed her eyes closed almost instantly, exhausted from
practicing wandless magic for most of the day.
A knock at the door made her eyes open and she waited for another to come. When
it wasn't followed by another knock she turned on her side and glanced at the
nightstand before looking to the vanity mirror.
In the reflection she could see her school robes were sitting on the dresser
and she got up quickly, moving into the bathroom for a quick shower before
putting them on. With that done she picked up her empty bag and went into the
living room. When she approached the window bench the lock was gone and she
retrieved her wand, glancing around once but Barty was nowhere in sight.
Hermione stepped into the floo, walking into the Gryffindor commons a moment
later. She was smiling when she past over the entrance. As she had slept she
had started to think everything before had been a dream. This morning though
had been uneventful, and she preferred it that way. So far he hadn't done
anything to her that she told to stop doing, besides when he had covered her
mouth that is. But she could forget that if he kept this up.
"Have a good weekend?" Ginny's voice cut through her thoughts and she couldn't
resist the urge to grin.
"Yes. A very good weekend." Hermione said as she slipped into a seat at the
Gryffindor table, slightly surprised at how fast she had come to be in the
Great Hall. She hadn't really been paying attention to her surroundings while
coming down here. It was a wonder she hadn't run into a wall.
Ginny's eyebrow rose. "Really? Please tell."
"Please don't," Ron said a moment later and both her and Ginny glanced to her
brother, sitting in his usual seat across the table. "What? I don't want to
hear about Blaise. I hear enough in the halls as it is. What is it with you
girls and talking about boys and how you get 'butterflies in your stomach'
sounds bloody uncomfortable."
Ginny rolled her eyes with a laugh, "It's not meant to be taken literally Ron.
It's a metaphor."
"It's a bloody stupid metaphor then. Why do girls feel the need to speak in
metaphors? Harry?"
There was silence for a moment as Harry swallowed down a slice of orange. "What
makes you think I have the answer?"
"Well with the way Romilda Vane keeps staring at you anyone would think you
know something about girls." Ron said, starting to sound exasperated.
"I know more things about dragons than girls."
Ginny evidently had enough of this topic as she leaned over to Hermione, now
ignoring her brother and Harry. "Fine, fine. Hermione, tell me when these two
goons aren't around."
"I am not a goon!"
"Yes you are." Ginny waved her fork at her brother as she talked and Hermione
just laughed before focusing on her own breakfast, letting their banter fade to
the back of her mind.
A familiar hoot sprang to the front and she glanced up from her plate. A letter
had just landed between it and the fruit bowl. Reaching out she grabbed it,
only needing to glance over the Ministry seal before she opened it quickly. The
bloody thing had finally arrived.
Dear Hermione Jean Granger,
I am sorry for the delay in getting back to you. As you probably already know
the Ministry has been hectic since the law was put into motion. Though in this
case I think it has worked to your advantage.
The Ministry has been going over a few ways to calm the public down concerning
your fiance's history. Nothing is solid yet but it's likely to be held in a
public place. When they come up with a plan you'll be the first to know.
This isn't concerning what you wanted me to look into but if you could come
down to my office we can speak about it more there. I have a spot open on
Wednesday if you don't mind missing your last class for that day.
Sincerely, Supervisor Cuthota of the Department of Marriages, Births, and
Deaths
***** Chapter 18 *****
Chapter Notes
     New chapter, pretty older chapters due to llamas69 helping with
     cleanup. Enjoy!
Her gaze flickered up to the clock. Just one more minute. One more minute than
maybe she might actually be able to do something about this law. Or at the very
least get a few ideas. Hopefully.
The bell from the tower rang, signaling the top of the hour. The end of class.
The end of school for her, today anyways. Hermione started to cram her school
supplies in her bag, for once not caring where things went.
"It's oomnot ohm. I was saying 'oh' not the spell. Is it just me or is
McGonagall in a bad mood today?" She could hear Ron speaking with Harry at the
end of the table.
"Just a bit grumpy. A seventh year said that Malfoy and company got out of
detention for that bogart earlier than planned, so that might be it."
"Oh." Ron put special emphasis on the sound, "That makes sense then."
Harry's laughter filled her ears as she put the stopper in the ink well,
managing to remember to do so just before throwing it into the bag. Would have
caused a mess if she hadn't. "Yeah... what's the rush Hermione?"
"I have an appointment with my Supervisor at the Ministy," she said quickly
searching around for her quill on the desk before leaning down to search the
ground for the writing utensil. If she had lost another quill - in other words
it was stolen - she was going to have to start borrowing one from her friends.
Which would be fine, if Ron didn't chew on the end of his, and Harry managed to
give one to her in Potions before Professor Snape found another reason to chew
him out. "Blast it," she moved to get up, her head hitting the underside of the
desk a second later, "Bloody hell."
"Who is your Supervisor? Did you get to pick from a list or does the Ministry
assign one to you?" Ron asked.
She supposed she should have expected that sooner rather than later. He would
be getting his letter next out of the three of them. With another mutter she
ducked down after spotting the edge of a feather, letting out a sigh when it
was her quill. Hermione was careful when she stood up this time, avoiding the
edge of the desk to stand up and stick it in her bag. "You're given an option
from three Supervisors. The Ministry chooses your nurse, doctor, whatever." she
fired off an answer as she zipped her bag up.
"Wait." Hermione paused after slinging the bag over her shoulder. She still
needed to drop it off at the dorm or at least the commons. "You're skipping
class then? Again?"
She sighed, she didn't have time for this. "I'm not 'skipping class' again,
Ronald. I have an important appointment to go to. So, I will see you later."
Without another glance at the two of her friends she walked towards the door,
having already informed the Professor of her next class earlier in the week
that she wouldn't be able to make it.
"Is this just an hour or so appointment or should we not expect to see you
until Monday?" Ron's voice carried out of the room and she scowled before
walking quickly down the hall, ignoring the jab.
She only picked up her pace when she hit the staircases, thankful no more
questions had been asked. Specifically about her Supervisor, which had the
potential to lead to Blaise even though he wasn't her husband.
Fiance.
That's what Cuthota called Barty in his letter. She smiled as she ran up the
stairs. It was good thinking on his part. She could just imagine what would
happen if someone had been reading the letter over her shoulder and seen the
word husband there instead. That would have caused all sorts of problems.
Besides the gossipers thinking that the rumor that her and Blaise being married
already was true. If that was true her friends would know about it, and they
didn't. Whoever came up with these tall tales wasn't being very orginal.
Her own friends would be pestering her if they had looked over and seen that
word. A mess. That's what it would have caused. Being unable to hide the fact
that Blaise was just a cover, though it still wouldn't make her tell them the
truth.
That was one thing she couldn't do. All she could do was pretend nothing
happened to her on the weekends. Something she hoped she wouldn't have to fake
after her conversation with Barty. He had said he wouldn't touch her, she could
only hope he would keep to his word. That Cuthota might know something to evade
that part of the law. She hadn't had a check up at the hospital yet, maybe she
should go in and check. Once she was pregnant he wouldn't have a single excuse
to touch her.
She smiled at that thought, comforted for a moment. "Glassel." she told the Fat
Lady, the portraint swinging open so Hermione could step into the commons. She
sprinted up the stairs to the girls' dorms, throwing open the door and
launching her bag across the room to land on her bed. Turning on her heel she
run back down the stairs and into McGongall's room. "Ministry of Magic!"
After the blur of green Hermione stepped from the overgrown fireplace into a
crowd of people walking back and forth. A frustrated sigh slipped from her as
she started to elbow her way to the front of the Ministry, walking straight to
the hall Lucius had taken her down last time she was here. She still remembered
the way, which was good considering the long line at the reception area. If she
had had to stand there and wait for directions to Cuthota's office she might as
well have been driven up a wall.
She was pushing the door open soon enough, closing it once she was inside. "Mr.
Cuthota?"
He stepped around from a file cabinet, shuffling through papers as he walked
over. "Hello Hermione, please have a seat." She sat down just before he was in
his own chair, setting the papers aside at the edge of the desk. "Files for
other appointments," he explained, to which she only nodded in acknowledgement.
Cuthota leaned forward in his chair, clasping his hands ontop of the desk, "You
may not be here for marriage counsel, but I would like to remind you that it is
my main purpose here as your Supervisor. So-"
"Wait a moment," Hermione tried to wrap her head around what he had just said,
"When I was here last you said my counselor hadn't been decided yet."
"I volunteered."
She blinked before nodding, "Of course you did." How else would the Death
Eaters make it even harder for her to get word out that her husband was
torturing her to someone that could actually help her? Why was she even here?
"You mentioned that this appointment wasn't exactly about what the Ministry is
planning."
"It's not. Not completely anyway." Cuthota reached over and pulled open a
drawer to pull out a roll of parchment and set it on the desk infront of her.
"That's for you."
Hermione glanced down at it then back up at him. "What is it?"
"Open it."
"But why are you giving it to me?" she didn't get it. He had her come down here
for a scrap of paper? An old one at that, she could tell from the material, so
it couldn't be her marriage certificate, which the Ministry kept anyway.
"Because I was told to."
"By Barty?" she asked. Who else would make a request concerning her to Cuthota?
She could feel the blood slowly starting to drain from her face. What if Barty
had said something to him about their conversation? That she wasn't going to
cooperate with the law? No, no, Hermione. You can't go to Azkaban, remember?
"Althea."
"Huh?" the blood was returning to her face now. Hermione had never heard that
name before. Why would someone she never knew send her something through
Cuthota?
"His mother," she was still confused, and her face must have shown it as
Cuthota elaborated further, "Barty's mother."
Hermione blinked, "But she's-"
"Dead, has been for years." Cuthota looked back down to the paper and she
followed his gaze, "She left me a request before that happened, so this is
yours."
She reached out, unrolling the parchment to glance at the contents which
consisted of a bunch of words in latin and a single illustration. It looked
like a circle, a glimmering circle. A spell? Why would Barty's mother leave her
a spell? "Umm thanks," she glanced up to Cuthota after rolling it back up and
sticking it in her pocket with an undetectable extension charm. "Why me?"
"You married Barty didn't you?" she just nodded. "Her request was to give it to
his wife once he was married."
Sounded more like an 'if' situatuion to her. "How is that possible?"
Cuthota took a moment to clear his throat, "Sirius Black wasn't the first
prisoner to escape Azkaban, it was Barty. Althea took polyjuice potion to
pretend to be her son in the prison until she died to get him out. His father
helped."
Her mind immediately latched onto the last thing he had said. "What do you know
about Barty's father?"
"Besides sending his own son to Azkaban to break him out barely a year later?
Next to nothing," there was a pause, "Why do you want to know?'
"I-" Hermione stopped for a moment, glancing back to the table. He was her
marriage counselor, and this was what they were for, right? At least in part.
It was a problem that caused issues with their marriage. Though everything
caused issues in their marriage, the major one being that she hadn't chosen
him. Those damn Death Eaters did. "He... gets violent when his father is
remotely mentioned in some way," that was putting it lightly.
She glanced back up to Cuthota, who... looked as if he was frowning, barely. A
barely there frown. From a person that always seemed to wear a poker face, that
didn't bode well. "I'll put it this way: Bartemius Senior should have been
thrown in Azkaban after breaking his son out, and he would have been. If house
elves could be used as witnesses in the Ministry courts, seeing as they can't,
my hands were tied."
She blinked. "What do you mean, your hands were tied?"
"Without evidence there's no way to prove when one breaks the law. Putting the
victim in the courts wasn't an option, so evidence would be the next. That and
no one cares about prisoners that were supposedly in Azkaban."
Victim? Breaking the law? Hermione's gaze lowered back to the desk. The
imperius curse. Well, that explained a lot. "You said you knew next to
nothing." She glanced back up, frowning at Cuthota. How he could say that and
then give inside information was beyond her.
"Althea requested that I keep an eye on her son before going into Azkaban."
"Why? He was a convicted Death Eater, he's still a Death Eater."
The former trace of emotion vanished from his face. "For a muggleborn you now
hold a large amount of influence in the Ministry, if you care to use it." she
blinked, unsure of what he was saying. If she was hearing him correctly.
"But... you're a Death Eater."
His brow raised ever so slightly and then the sleeves of his robes were rolled
up. Cuthota turned his arms but no matter the angle Hermione couldn't see a
single mark on the skin. "As I was saying," he rolled the sleeves back down, "I
work for the Crouch family. As in you and Barty, not the Death Eaters or a
self-proclaimed Dark Lord."
"The Malfoys-"
"Wish to seek favor with their Lord, and yes, the Dark Lord is aware of your
marriage to Barty. It's still true that you won't go to Azkaban if you try and
break the law."
Hermione bit her lip, "What happens if I don't fufill the requirements of the
law? If... I don't... do the weekly."
Cuthota leaned back in his chair. "The Ministry would know about it the second
after the designated time is passed. You can't break the law or get around it.
No one can. When I say influence I mean political, not concerning already
passed laws." He glanced over his shoulder then, with a flick of his wand one
of the file cabinets opened and a box floated out to land on the table. "That
contains all current going ons in the courts of the Ministry."
"Does that include their plot to use me?" Hermione asked, gazing at the sealed
box. It had landed with a heavy thud, she could only imagine how many rolls of
parchment were contained in there. Especially since it sounded as if there was
an extension charm on it. Which meant it held a lot more then what the box
looked like it could contain.
"No, that's off the books." his wand flicked again and the box was raised up to
land back where it had been a second ago. "If you ever want anything from that
box though just contact me and you'll get copies." With his hands settled on
the desk again he continued to answer her question, the main thing she came
here for, "The Ministry hasn't decided exactly what to do yet, but they are
getting some ideas."
"You mentioned a public place would be used."
"Yes, to help send the message that he isn't a Death Eater. With it being
public there would be a lot of witches and wizards around, just the sort of
place a Death Eater attack is likely to happen. The Ministry wants to let the
public know that they're safe and there's no reason to be afraid. Also so they
stop sending letters about the decision to set him free."
"How did Barty get out of Azkaban?" It was a question she had been asking
herself since she saw the news in the Daily Prophet. Before this mess with the
marriage law came into play.
Cuthota's fingers drummed on the desk, "That's something you should ask him
yourself."
Hermione had the urge to tear out her own hair once again, even after knowing
that just pulling on the strands hurt like hell thanks to Barty. "Whenever I
ask him something he either avoids the question completely or deflects it with
another question. Why can't you just tell me?"
He stopped tapping at the wood, "It's not my place," glancing at a clock to his
side he said, "That's all the time I have for today. I have another appointment
in a minute that I need to get ready for," he turned back to her, "If you want
to come in again send a letter beforehand and I'll squeeze you in to my
schedule."
"Has Barty been here before?"
Cuthota twined his fingers together ontop of the desk, "Regularly. I'm busy
with his own requests regarding the Ministry," there was a knock at the door
that cut through his words for a moment, "Please leave, Mrs. Crouch."
Hermione drew back from the desk as if stung. She stood up quickly and
practically ran from the room, heading back to the reception area which would
lead her back to the floo powder network.
She couldn't believe he had just done that. Calling her by her marriage name
when someone else was right outside the door. If they had heard... if they had
seen her face, even though she kept her head down when she exited the room.
There was too many 'what ifs' swimming around in her head right then.
It took her a few minutes until she was standing in a line to use the floo
network to calm herself down. Cuthota wouldn't have said that if there was a
chance anyone else would hear. There was probably a muffling charm on the door
to his office. He was the one that extended the option of having the change in
her name remain hidden, there was no reason he would do that.
As she stepped forward in the line, listening to another person disappear in
the green flames she frowned. The Ministry would know if her and Barty didn't
do the weekly as she had put it. So there really was no way around that part of
the law. How was that suppose to get fulfilled after what she had said to Barty
though? She bit at her lip, taking another step forward. That might end up
being a problem.
With one more step forward and a mutter of her destination green flames sprang
up around her. She would go straight to the library, maybe she could find
something to help her in there. Even if it hadn't done much for her the last
time.
***** Chapter 19 *****
Chapter Notes
     This should serve to be a very interesting chapter, not very
     enlightening, more so producing questions, but still interesting. I
     hope you guys enjoy, and that the beginning doesn't scare you off.
Hermione sucked in a breath, it left her throat raw, the hot air killing any
moisture, the bits of ash that seemed to continuously fall from the sky invaded
her mouth and she quickly closed it. Leaning forward she coughed, urging it out
of her system as she stared at the ground where small rivers of blood rolled
along the surface.
With most of the ash out of her mouth now she raised her head again, trying to
ignore the crackle of flames all around her. Smoke filled the air in tall
pillars, obscuring the sky. The fire around her continued to burn and yet, she
hadn't seen a single piece of wood fall, it just kept burning and the heat
never lost a flame.
She turned slowly until she didn't see anymore burning buildings, instead it
was a wall of smoke. Hermione coughed again, before stepping forward, wanting
to get out of this place.
The smoke swirled as she got closer, starting to part so could see a glimpse of
metal burning hot. She took a step back, still remembering the feel of hot
metal on her own skin, it parted then. The smoke curled away so all she could
see was metal coming up from the ground, glowing red from the heat, arching
high up into the air and back into the pillars of smoke.
She was unable to hold back the whimper in her throat at seeing the fence,
forcing in a breath of air to cough once again she turned, looking back at the
buildings for another way out.
Most looked like husks, the roofs gone, though she could see one with a roof in
the distance, and less smoke coming from there. Hermione covered her mouth with
her hand as she walked forward, flinching whenever her bare feet stepped into
the blood covering the ground, sending it splashing up to gather on her ankles.
She tried to ignore the flecks that hit her knees, if there was a way out of
here it had to be there. In that house.
She curled her cloak tighter around her as she walked, leaning away from the
flames that reached out like fingers towards her when she passed too close to
the fire. Hermione only stopped when she got to the building that wasn't
burning, standing two-stories tall with the door unhinged and lying on the
steps leading inside. Wood creaked above her and she tilted her head back to
see a sign hanging above.
Most of the words had blood splattered over them, the original anyway. Below
them were words in another language, carved into the wood along with a symbol
of a star.
Opos kai parapano, etsi kai kato
With a glance at the burning buildings she walked into the inn to be greated by
the crackle of flames. Hermione turned quickly, letting out a sigh of relief
when the only fire she could see was in the confines of a hearth. Her fingers
uncurled slowly as she finally allowed herself to relax after finding herself
in this hell hole. She took a step back from the fire, still wary of it.
Something had poked into her back and she turned to see the wood rail of a
staircase that led up.
Hermione reached out and wrapped her hand around the rail before slowly
ascending the steps, glancing at the tapestry on the walls that held dark
patches. The same sort of dark spots that would come from a misfired spell. A
battle must have happened here, though the building seemed fine despite the
marks.
She reached the landing and moved her gaze to the open doorways, pieces of wood
that must have once been doors lay scattered on the floor and she stepped
around them to peer into the first room.
Hermione quickly moved back and closed her eyes, trying to wipe the vivid
memory of blood coating the walls and furniture, and bloody remains hanging
from the chandelier, blood still dripping into the accumulating sea beneath it.
Maybe this wasn't the way out
She covered her mouth once more before walking further down the hall so she
wouldn't taste death on her tongue. Hermione spared each room a glance, finding
them in similar states to the first one. So she was pleasantly surprised when
she found the last room was devoid of blood and the stench that came with it.
Stepping inside she moved around the room, trailing a hand over the drawers
before yanking them open to find nothing again and again. From the pristine
look it seemed as if no one had ever rented this room out. She continued her
search, opening everything and tearing the sheets from the bed, the continued
crackle of flames outside the windows urging her on. Hermione was about to
leave the room after turning everything over when she noticed the drawer
beneath the matress and walked back to the bed, sitting down to pull it open
and found herself staring back at her own reflection.
A mirror filled the bottom of the drawer and she frowned. That was hardly a way
out. She started to turn away, only stopping when the reflection didn't do the
same. Hermione turned back, still frowning but the reflection remained where it
was, expression neutral. She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment just to
think. When she opened them again Hermione recoiled from the arms reaching out
of the mirror, turning skeletal when they slipped the glass, if it was glass.
Her hand fell from her mouth and she gasped in a breath to cough and try to get
the rancid air from her throat. Skeleton hands pressed at the edge of the
drawer, the top of a skull starting to appear as whatever it was pushed itself
from the mirror. Without a single thought Hermione pushed herself up from the
ground and ran back down the hall and down the stairs, ignoring the clattering
of bones behind her.
She burst from the doorway, breathing hard and fast. With a quick look to the
left where she had come from she turned right, running down the street her
throat burning from the air. Hermione ran down the streets, flames licking at
the sides of her vision, seeming to crawl along the wood, hopping from building
to building, chasing her. There was a thing chasing her.
Her feet slipped through a river of blood and she was partly surprised it
hadn't caused her to fall sooner before she went sprawling on the ground, left
foot twisting as it hit a raised surface and she hissed from the pain that shot
up her leg.
Hermione turned on the ground, throwing a quick look behind her. Upon not
seeing the thing anywhere in her immediate vicinity she slowly sat up,
flinching from the pain in her ankle. She touched at the spot before turning to
look at the slate of stone raising from the ground that had caused this mess.
It barely stayed above the blood surrounding it, covered in ash and she brushed
it off, brow furrowing when she saw more of the unrecognizable letters that had
been present at the inn.
Edo vrisketai i aionia kolasi.
Eimaste ena me ti sfaira.
She was still staring at the words when a rattle of bones reached her ears.
Hermione drew in a sharp breath, keeping it caught in her throat as her heart
hammered away in her chest. The blood lapped at her elbow and with a glance
down she slid back to the ground slowly, staring in the opposite area that she
heard the sound. She held her breath when it got closer, forcing her body to
remain as still as one of the corpses she found in the inn room.
The sound from the thing stopped though and instead she heard the splash of
blood, feet walking through the streams. It didn't take long for her to see
bare feet covered in blood come into her vision. She kept her gaze fixed on
them, not looking up as they drew closer to stop just a yard away.
"Paidi?"
She kept her lips shut, not wanting to give away that she wasn't dead, not
caring to answer a question she didn't even understand. Mostly she didn't want
any of the blood slipping into her own mouth.
Stark white filled her vision in the next moment, bone glistening in the light
of the flames and she screamed as she started to scramble away, hands pushing
at the ground...
Her hands pushed at the wood beneath her and Hermione gasped, breathing
quickly, eyes flying open to see familiar book shelves soaring high above her.
The library. She was in the library. Her breathing slowed as she forced herself
to relax. It had just been a dream. A vivid dream, but a dream none the less.
Talons hit the wood of the desk and her head shot to the side to see her owl
sitting there, a letter tied to it's left leg. "Shit," Hermione drew in a
breath to still her nerves before reaching out and taking the letter, "Go back
to the owlery Ari," the owl flapped her wings and then took off through the
window next to her.
She sighed, willing herself to push the dream from the back of her mind. Though
she kept seeing blood, letters carved into wood and stone whenever she blinked.
Her gaze landed on the Ministry symbol holding the letter together. She broke
the seal, needing something to divert her attention from the dream, the thing,
and some woman's voice speaking in a foreign language.
Dear Hermione Jean Granger,
About your inquiry the other day.
I would seriously reconsider thinking about breaking the law on your part. If
you don't comply with the requirement your agreement with my department will no
longer be applicable. And the Ministry would be able to leak your situation to
the press.
I hope you thought over what I said and will listen to my advice concerning
your fiance.
Sincerely, Supervisor Cuthota of the Department of Marriages, Births, and
Deaths
She bit at her lip, feeling a rush of anger run through her. It was a threat.
The damned Ministry was threatening to take away her protection.
Hermione threw the letter back onto the table, glaring down at it. Weren't they
already doing enough? They were working on a plan to assure the public about
Barty already. That should suffice for everyone that somehow knew he was still
a Death Eater or had a feeling that he was anyway. None of them actually knew
or else he would have been forced into Azkaban by now.
Unless Cuthota manipulated the Ministry to keep him out that is. He did say he
worked for the Crouch family. It was likely he would do it if it came to that,
no matter what she said. She had only married into the family, she doubted she
had as much pull on politics as Cuthota had made it sound.
"Hermione," she spun around at hearing her name, hand slamming over the letter
to cover it even though there was no immediate mention of her marriage. Blaise
was standing next to one of the bookshelves, "Sorry to startle you. Could we
talk?"
She paused for a moment then nodded her head, "Yeah, sure," she ran a hand
through her hair, hoping it didn't look too messy after her nap, "Just give me
a moment." Hermione turned setting one of her texts ontop of the books she had
been looking through previously, trying to find a way out of the law's
requirement. She had gotten a few ideas in mind before reading that letter from
Cuthota, but not it was all a mess again. Bloody Ministry.
She grabbed a book from a stack nearby, setting it ontop of her own stack so
Blaise wouldn't see what she had been researching, keeping the numerous
fertility books from view. Once her stack of now worthless notes were back in
her bag she stuck the letter in as well before getting up from the desk and
turning to face him. A thought struck her though as she took a step forward,
hesitating. "Uh, I need to find one more book before we go."
"I can help you look," she considered his offer for a moment then nodded moving
through the stacks to the language section, finger gliding over the spines,
looking for familiar marks, a word she had seen before. She only got more
frustrated as she look, issuing a sigh after a few minutes of looking. "Is
something wrong?" Blaise asked from her right, just standing and watching her
go over the books.
She realized she hadn't given him a single hint of what she was looking for.
"I'm fine," she bit at her lip, "I just had a weird dream. Do you know what
paidi means?" Hermione turned back to the books, hoping the single word didn't
mean something terrible, and if it did that he wouldn't know what it meant.
"Yeah," she halted in her progress, glancing back to him. "It's greek, means
child."
"Greek," she repeated turning to quickly snatch an english greek translation
dictionary. "Child?" she muttered to herself as she slung the book into her
bag. It certainly wasn't morbid like she had expected. Though she didn't know
what to make of it. Why did that woman call her child? And what had that
skeleton thing been?
"Most of the seventh years have been talking about having odd dreams this
week." That comment made her turn back to face Blaise.
"Have you had weird dreams?"
"Just one." She bit at her lip, unsure of what else to ask. "It's spread like a
wild fire all over the school. One of the Ravenclaws thinks it's a side effect
of the ritual since a few six years are having them as well, those who received
their letters anyway." He paused for a moment. "Is the paidi thing from a
dream? The name of the ritual is in greek, you know."
"It is?" she asked, slowly walking out of the library now that she had what she
needed to figure out what those words meant from her own dream.
He nodded. "It's suppose to translate to the, threads of time."
"So, the dreams could be a side effect of the ritual." she said, pushing down
the urge to shiver, instead she glanced to Blaise. What had his dream been
about? He didn't appear freaked out about it, but she didn't want to be
invasive or do anything to jeopardize their agreement.
"Or they were always a part of the ritual and the Ministry is missing the page
that talks about it."
"Are any of them the same?"
"Not from what I've heard. Some are as normal as dreams get, just with a single
thing out of place. Others are more weird. A Hufflepuff said something about
being underwater, able to breath without a spell and that they couldn't leave
the water, but it's nothing too unusual. That seventh year just mentioned they
were scared of water but felt calm in the dream."
Hermione pressed her lips together. If that was the first example he thought of
then she doubted anyone else was in a burning village like she had been. "Where
are we going to talk?" she asked, since the students they passed in the hallway
- especially the younger years - kept glancing at them and then murming to each
other.
Blaise must have noticed as well as he looked over them before answering her,
"Hogsmeade."
/ / /
He watched as the door to the Hog's Head swung shut as Hermione slipped out.
Well, that seemed to go fine, and would keep the impression that they were
actually matches for the next few weeks. Those students they had passed in the
hallway were probably already spreading rumors even though they had been five
inches apart and hadn't been holdings hand like some couples in Hogwarts were
starting to do. He just hoped they didn't take everything out of proportion
again.
Blaise sighed as he leaned back in the chair, swirling his glass of butterbeer
in hand as he stared down at the light liquid and the bits of foam that still
clung stubbornly to the corners of the glass.
"If you're trying to look disappointed about her having to leave it's working."
He glanced up to see Draco take the seat across from him.
"I wasn't even thinking abou that," he said, downing a gulp from his drink a
moment later.
"What's wrong then?" Draco took out his flask from the pocket of his robe,
which Blaise suspected held firewhiskey.
"The gossipers got to Daphne the last time me and Hermione were seen together,"
he took another drink from his glass.
Draco grinned, taking a quick swing of whatever was in the flask before setting
it down on the table, "Well since you weren't at Hogwarts this time and instead
at Hogsmeade they'll be nicer. Say things like, 'I saw the two of them enter a
room at the inn.'"
Blaise blanched, the butterbeer turning sour in his stomach. "Don't let Daphe
hear you saying that. In fact, don't let anyone get that idea. That would just
be going overboard in the rumor department."
"Walk the plank, matey." Draco announced, and Blaise raised an eyebrow at his
friend who took another swing from his flask, nose scrunching up for a second
afterwards. Yup, definitely firewhiskey. Though his friend was quite now, and
even with his little mood swings fire whiskey usually got him talking.
"What about you?" Blaise asked, now looking at his empty drink, thinking about
getting a refill and maybe stealing some of the alcohol from his friend.
"Hmm?"
He looked up to see Draco looking down at the table, running a finger along the
surface. Depressed mood again, perfect. "Give me that," he reached out and
quickly snatched the flask from Draco, sticking it in his pocket. Blaise just
ignored the glare he recieved for doing that, "What are you so depressed about?
Your letter hasn't come yet."
"Yet," Draco repeated, then sighed, signaling to a passing waiter before
slumping back into the furniture. The fellow Slytherin was silent for a moment,
and then, "Why are you covering for her?" Blaise stared at him, he had already
gone over this with Draco a week ago, so why was he asking now? "It would be
more entertaining if you didn't."
Entertaining? "What are you..." Blaise paused as the waiter set two glasses of
butterbeer down, taking his empty glass back to the bar. It did give him a
moment to think about what he was saying though, "Do you know who her match
is?"
Draco only gave him a look before he started drinking from his own glass,
frowning probably from the lack of alcohol.
/ / /
The green flames had dissolved around her but Hermione stayed rooted to the
spot for a moment. When she didn't hear or see him she stepped from the mantle
crossing the living room quickly and into the hall to get to her own room.
With the door closed behind her now, she let out a sigh of relief. Atleast he
hadn't been waiting for her or lurking in the shadows. So far it seemed that he
was keeping to his word...
Hermione chewed on her bottom lip as she walked across the room to set her bag
down on the bed. Why did the Ministry have to go and stick their nose in her
buisness? She took out some of the notes from her bag, going over them again.
Her finger trailed over the words as she sat on the edge of the bed, glaring
down at the paper. This one had been the most promising, but now she couldn't
use it. "Bloody Ministry," she muttered as she read over the spell that could
get the same result as sex - well in her case rape. In other words he wouldn't
have been able to lay a hand on her and the actual consumation as the Ministry
had liked to call it wouldn't have needed to happen. It doubled as a fertility
spell as well, simply upping the chances. It may have been complicated but she
was sure she would have been able to figure it out if given the chance.
How did the Ministry know when or if they did it anyway? She suspected it had
to do with the blood that the nurse Mrs. Vandis had taken from her when she
went to Saint Mungos. It was really the only thing she could think of. That
document that went in detail of the law probably told exactly what it was, but
she hadn't had a chance to look at it the other weekends. When she had looked
over at the coffee table and the kitchen table as well today she hadn't seen
the papers anywhere. Barty must have moved them, probably to his room as she
couldn't think of anywhere else he would put them.
With a mutter she fell back onto the bed, just lying there as she stared up at
the ceiling. Maybe that one philosophy was right. When everything is suddenly
going good, you're about to get screwed. She couldn't remember if those were
even the right words or who had said it in the first place, but she still got
the message from it.
She sighed, watching the candles flicker back and forth above her. Now what was
she suppose to do?
Hermione turned over onto her stomach, grabbing the rest of the papers from her
bag and spread them out over the matress. Maybe there was a good enough
fertility potion in here that would make it so she only had to do it once more
with Barty, if she could even figure out how that was going to work as well.
She spent most of the weekend holed up in her room, only going out after
checking from the hallway that he wasn't in the living room.
With each spell or potion she looked over only to throw the page containing it
over the side of the bed she could feel a twist in her stomach. Eventually she
grabbed a few pages and tried looking for a way to combine them to get the
effect she wanted. Without anyway to make sure there wasn't a bad side effect
she was hesitant to try anything she had written down, even if she hadn't
noticed anything that would directly conflict with one of the spells or
potions.
Not having a wand or the potion supplies to do any sort of trial run made her
shove all the papers that had accumulated on her bed to the floor, and she
watched them flutter down before turning her gaze to the clock.
It was almost midnight now, and it was Sunday. There could only be around six
to five hours left until the Ministry would deem the law broken and start
whispering to the Daily Prophet. It would certainly get their desired effect
quicker that way. She still couldn't let that happen.
Hermione turned onto her side, staring back at her reflection in the vanity
mirror as her mind spun. Words from the various potions and spells whizzed
around but she hardly focused on them, gaze set on her own eyes staring right
back.
With a shaky hand she pushed her hair behind her ear then sat up slowly, not
letting herself stop moving. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and
stood up walking over to open her door and step into the hallway. Without a
glance left she turned right, deeper into the house. She barely managed to hold
in a whimper as she passed the now closed and locked door that seemed to have a
small piece of hell beyond it.
She stopped just in front of the door at the end of the hall, looking over the
splintered bits and pieces, taking in small quick breaths. With her hand curled
she knocked softly on the wood, waiting a few seconds. When no noise came she
drew her tongue over her lips so they wouldn't be so dry when she tried to
speak, "Barty?"
After a minute of silence had passed her hand went to the door knob and she
pushed the door open slowly. Even as it creaked forward there was no other
sound, and once again she wondered if the door was about to fall apart. Her
gaze slid over the room, settling on Barty who was currently lounging on the
bed. He hadn't even looked up once, his own gaze on one of the old tattered
books in his hand. If she had to guess it would contain dark magic. Just
thinking about that made a shiver run down her spine. Surely he already knew
enough dark magic?
"Barty," she said his name again, hoping to get his attention this time as the
clock ticked in the back of her mind. His finger tapped at the edge of the book
as he turned a page but he didn't give any indication that he had heard her,
and she knew he could hear her. "The law-"
"'I refuse to be raped because of a law.' Those are your words, aren't they?"
She held her breath for a moment, staring at him. "I... yes." Hermione blinked,
trying to steady her breathing that was suddenly coming fast after his initial
response to her words. "But it effects my agreement with Cuthota as well. They,
the Ministry will tell the Prophet if I break the law-"
"Personally I don't care what the Daily Prophet does."
She bit at her lip, waiting a few seconds to assure herself that he wouldn't
start speaking again in the middle of her own words, "Won't they put you back
in Azkaban if you don't comply with the law?" she found her voice starting to
shake as she spoke. The Ministry had to have said something to him about it,
even if they didn't believe he was a Death Eater.
"Probably. If they could."
Those words ran through her mind for a few seconds. Of course they would try,
and the Death Eaters and Cuthota would keep him out of the prison, just as she
had thought they would. Her lips parted, but the words caught in her throat.
She swallowed down the lump and tried again, "Barty, I-"
"'don't want your filthy hands on me ever again.' Also your words, if I'm
remembering correctly. Go ahead and correct me if I'm wrong." His fingers
barely moved and a page lifted to lower on the other side.
She bit at her lip, fingers twitching at her sides. He couldn't seriously be
doing this. After all the other times that had been for his sick pleasure, but
now he wouldn't actually conform to the law? He wasn't even worried about going
to Azkaban... he didn't even care about the Prophet and what it could do to
her. And why would he? It would be in favor of the Ministry and the Death
Eaters. It would work in his favor.
Her fingers curled at her sides and she raised them slowly to work at the
buttons of her top. The room was silent except for the flutter of turning pages
as she slid her arms from the sleeves, letting the pajama shirt fall to the
floor. She hooked her fingers into her pants and knickers, sliding them down
her legs to gather in a pile at her ankles.
Stepping from the pile of clothes she walked forward until she could rest the
palms of her hands on the edge of the bed. She could feel her body trembling
and took deep breaths to steady herself before leaning forward to move up the
bed. As she crawled forward she kept her hands a good few inches away from the
sides of his body, wincing when her knee bumped against his leg the first time.
When he didn't move she resumed moving forward, only stopping to rest on his
thighs.
Her gaze flickered up to him momentarily to find he was still looking at the
book, she considered tearing it from his hands for a second until her eyes drew
back down past his hands to the belt along his pants. Her fingers curled into
the sheets. Who the bloody hell kept their belt on when they were lying on a
bed? Other than to make undressing someone harder that is.
She uncurled her fingers, reaching down to undo the buckle, grabbing onto it a
moment later she pulled quickly so it slid through the loops. Hermione set the
belt to the side, now pulling down the zipper without that leather strip in the
way. Her fingers moved back up, pushing the button through the fabric. She
stayed still for a second, biting at her lip before grabbing onto the waist
band and tugging it down, lifting her own body so she could lower the article
of clothing past the knees. Not bothering to go any further after all the
wriggling she had done just to get it there. She slid her body up, stopping
short to reach down, fingers running along the exposed skin of his thighs as
she kept her gaze averted, eyes latched on a wall.
Her fingers only slowed as they moved up, stopping entirely so she had to take
a breath and force them to continue. The tip of her fingers retracted the
moment his skin felt warmer beneath her hand. Hermione forced air into her
lungs, keeping her gaze on a charred spot on the wall as her hand moved back up
to wrap around his cock.
She slid her body up his once again, raising her hips to hold herself over
where her hand was placed. With her eyes still on the wall she lowered herself,
her fingers moving up to make sure she was aligned before lowering onto him. A
whimper caught in her throat when her hips met his, her hand having moved to
grasp at the side, fingers curling into the skin.
Hermione stayed still for a minute before forcing her body to slide back up and
then down again. She kept her movements slow, not wanting to experience pain
like all the other times.
If she couldn't see the wall she had stuck her gaze to she would have thought
she had burned a hole through it by now, with her eyes latched onto one spot.
Though she could, and there was really only one way to change that. She closed
her eyes.
Her breath hitched as a trickle of sweat ran down her spine. It just seemed to
make her skin more warm, hot. As if she was burning, and all that heat was
settling in the pit of her stomach. With a whimper she tilted her head back,
lips parting to try and get the cold air into her body faster.
The feeling only increased when skin brushed down her hip causing her eyes to
fly open and look down, the one place she had kept avoiding. His hand continued
down even as her hips met his once again. Her stomach was tightening...
"Stop."
"Shh," his fingers had slid between their bodies and she gasped, eyelids
fluttering against her will. "You'll like this."
Her lips parted to say it again when his fingers moved over that same spot, the
word stuck in her throat for a moment as he toyed with her clit. She was too
warm, her body too... A sound escape her when he put more pressure on the spot.
"No." it was building, it was coiling up in her and she hissed again, "No." He
couldn't be... she couldn't, "Barty," her vocals changed mid-name, body
trembling as a wave passed through it. She could feel her muscles clamp around
him, how she felt slick barely a second later.
Her mind was spinning, trying to process it, what he had just done. But then it
was shutting down along with the rest of her body. Hermione slumped forward as
her eyelids lowered, that wave still lapping at her mind, urging her to just
sleep it off.
With a whimper she pushed at his chest, managing to roll off and onto the side
before her vision went black.
***** Chapter 20 *****
Chapter Notes
     So besides this new chapter I've also uploaded a poetry fic for this
     couple and a one-shot, check em out if you haven't already.
A crackle of flames filled her ears, a soft pop as a log shifted and she
stirred, her cheek pressed against something cold.
Her eyes opened slowly, to see an empty floor in front of her, the wood boards
looked as if they had been nibbled on. Long thin marks trailed over the floor,
white against the dark wood, along with bits of red sometimes clinging to the
edges of them. Blood. Dried onto the floor. Those marks... they were thin
enough to have been made by nails, clawing at the ground that she now resided
on.
Her breath caught in her throat when she heard a low rattle from beneath the
sound coming from the fireplace. The only thing that was louder than the flames
was a sudden scratching along the wood and against her better judgement
Hermione glanced over to where it had come from.
The legs of the chair scraped along the floor before stopping, bloodied feet
stepped from behind it and she immediately knew it was that woman from before.
The same one was now sitting in the chair, crossing pale legs at the knee.
"Paidi?" She didn't dare look up, unsure of what she would see. "Child?" Her
eyes widened at the sudden change. This person could speak english, so why
hadn't they from the get go? "I know you're awake, there's no sense hiding it."
With a bite at her lip she raised her head just enough to see the person
sitting in the chair. The specks of blood lessened the further up her gaze
went, a thin dark garment covered the woman from thigh to neck. Hermione wasn't
sure what to call it, but it certainly didn't look like modern clothing. Her
eyes stopped when they met hers, dark, pure black.
"See?" The woman smiled and Hermione flinched from the sharp teeth that became
visible. It looked inhuman. Her eyes widened a moment later when she could see
bits of the chair from behind her. No, through her. A ghost.
"Who are you?" The words came out soft after hearing a distant bone rattling
somewhere within the structure. The last thing she wanted was that near her
again.
"Curious, aren't you?" A smile again, flashing teeth when the fire light
flickered over her face. The tips were outlined in red. "Sounder, because of
the sounds they make, their screams." Hermione inched back, not liking the
sound of this at all, though she stopped short. Her movement had been odd, it
felt as if... with a glance down she saw rope wrapped around her legs. "It's
more of a title than a name." Her gaze flickered back up, already wanting to
wake up from this nightmare. "Not that it holds any signifigance now."
She sucked in a breath, "Where am I?" she asked when this ghost person paused.
The way the flames suddenly seemed to move the light and shadows over her face
made her wonder if she could dream the flames into launching at the woman, up
until she spoke anyway, "Kouidar, I like to call it the blood and flame
bubble."
If she was having any other dream she would wonder why her mind would come up
with this. After speaking with Blaise though, and experiencing the dream before
this she was convinced it wasn't from her mind. "I want to leave," she had to
be able to get out of this, before things became even more strange than they
already were.
The woman grinned, "Then wake up," turning her head, she looked to a corner
shrouded in shadows, dark hair glowing from the flames. It looked as if there
was strands of red in the light and Hermione turned away, not wanting to know
what it was though she had a good enough idea. "Episkeptis mas thelei na fygei,
na tin kanei na paei."
Even before she was done speaking Hermione had started to develop a chill that
crawled over her skin. She wished that she understood greek so that she knew
what this woman, Sounder, was saying.
There was a clank from the shadows, metal hissing, and when Hermione glanced
over she could see sparks flying through the air, lighting up the area. She
wasn't able to hold back her scream at seeing the skeleton's flickering frame
created by the sparks, red hot metal spinning, and with a clink smaller bits of
metal attached as it spun around on the machine. Barbs. Skeletal fingers
wrapped around the end of the metal chain, dragging it over as it lumbered
across the room toward her.
Her feet made scuff marks on the floor as she kicked, but the ropes were tied
tight, keeping her in place as the thing stopped infront of her. It leaned
down, shuffling forward, moving the chain to her legs... the room went dark.
Even with the knowledge that it had all been a dream - a terrible twisted mind
fuck of a dream - she could still feel the way the bonds had kept her on the
floor. It was almost as if she was still bound. Her legs didn't feel
constricted anymore but there was a weight on her waist.
Her lips parted in a soundless cry and she went to move her hands, push
whatever it was from her body to find her one arm was pinned beneath that same
weight. She started to tremble, forcing her free hand to move towards the spot,
to...
To feel warm air run along her shoulder and neck, a soft murmur following it,
"Shh," hot breath on her skin, "It's okay," something soft pressed to her
shoulder blade, lips. "You're fine, Hermione." Her hand was suddenly warm,
fingers threading inbetween her own. His lips had moved inward, leaving a trail
of warmed skin behind. "It's just a dream, calm down."
The whispers fell quiet as his kisses didn't let up, just moved to the top of
her jaw before making the path back down. Her fingers curled around his, unsure
if she wanted this to be one of those dreams in a dream or reality. Either way
she still wasn't at that place, Kouidar, and for that she was thankful. She
could feel her pulse that had gotten caught in her throat slowly slip back and
Hermione took a shaky breath.
With just a glance across from her she found hollow eyes looking back at her
and stiffened. There was another murmur in her ear but she couldn't hear it due
to the blood pounding in her head, vision swimming.
She could barely keep in her whimper, just tightened her grasp on his hand.
With a single intake of breath she spun her body so she wasn't facing the
dresser and the skulls that adorned it. Instead she was pressed to his chest,
her arm that had previously been held down was now pinned between her own body
and the bed. With that hand free though and pressed to bare skin she could feel
a sort of vibration beneath the skin. She blinked, it taking a moment for her
to realize it was his heart, the beat steady unlike her own.
"Hermione?" her gaze flickered up, meeting his, "What's wrong?"
That single question sent her mind spinning. What was wrong? Everything in her
life was wrong. She shouldn't be having these weird dreams. If she were to have
them anywhere she should have them in her dorm with her House mates. Not here,
not with him. She shouldn't be here, sleeping next to him, naked beneath the
sheets, one hand clasped in his own, the other pressed to his bare chest. How
any of that had happened itself was most of a mystery to her. She remembered
falling asleep ontop of the sheets, not under them. That she had undone his
pants. Her fingers hadn't touched a single button on his shirt. Mostly she
remembered the dream and ducked her head down, pressing her forehead forward
until that part of her was pressed to his chest as well.
Damn skeletons. Damn skulls. She didn't want to see another for as long as she
lived. Though since there was atleast ten she could make out in the darkness if
she were to look back over her shoulder she kept her dead down, taking in slow
breaths to try and steady her heart.
It was only once she had convinced herself that the skeleton from her dream
wasn't secretly inhabiting one of the skulls in this room that she drew her
tongue over her lips. She had no idea if her voice was even going to come out
clear but she muttered, "Barty?" against his skin.
"Yes?" A wave of relief crashed over her that he had actually heard her.
"Have you..." she took in a quick breath, "Have you had any weird dreams?" When
her question was met with silence she tilted her head so she could glance up at
him. "It's just, the people at school who got their letters are having weird
dreams, and I..." she trailed off at just the memory of being surrounded by
fire and blood.
"Do you want to tell me about it?"
She blinked. "I..." Was it just her or was his voice soft today? "Uh," her gaze
slid down and away from his face. Her tongue began moving a moment later, lips
parting for words to tumble from her mouth, "There was fire, blood, this...
skeleton, and a woman. She called herself a Sounder, because..." she licked her
lips nervously, "because of their screams." Her heart was beating loud in her
ears again. "I think she tortured people, and she was in both of my dreams
calling me paidi. Child." Lips parting she drew in a breath of air, "I'm
scared."
His arm that she had failed to notice before tightened around her body and she
felt herself pressed forward. Hermione made no move back to her previous
position, instead biting into her lip to try and stop the familiar burn in her
eyes. Her shoulders shook and soon her cheeks felt hot and wet as tears flowed
down her face. Soft reassurances were being whispered into her ear again and
she closed her eyes, listening but not quite hearing.
When her eyes were dry and she was able to hold in her sobs she murmured softly
once again, "Did you have them?" She wasn't sure if he would answer her or not
but she hoped he would instead of dodging the topic like so many others.
His breath was loud in her ears and she opened her eyes to peek at him through
her lashes. "One," her fingers curled against his chest, silently urging him to
go on. She couldn't be the only person with dreams even she considered weird in
a completely over the top way compared to the only other one she had heard of.
She couldn't be the only one wondering what the dreams meant. "There wasn't any
blood or fire, there wasn't much light to speak of at all. It was cold, dark,
the air was heavy from mist. I couldn't really see much of the place between
the fog and lack of light. Blocks of stone stacked upon eachother were always
at the edge of my vision when the mist would part. The air was too rich to be
in a building though, I'm tempted to call it a ruin. This ruin was empty,
mostly. In the center was a pedestal and on top of that..." she bit at her lip
until he spoke again, "Was the puzzle box."
She took in a sharp breath. Puzzle box? "You mean... the one that the Death
Eaters have? That they're trying to open?" That couldn't be possible. Why would
that... her eyes widened. "It's from Ancient Greece." The moment the words were
out of her mouth she wanted to slap her hand over her lips.
"Greece?" she flinched at his question. "Why do you say that?"
Hermione was silent for a moment, not sure what to say. He knew now though, and
she couldn't take the words back. Now the Death Eaters would be one step closer
to opening the box and getting to the weapon inside it. An idea clicked in her
head a moment later, it was worth a shot anyway. "In the dream, was there
anything different about it? Was it... protected somehow?" He always deflected
her questions with more questions she should be able to do the same.
She was beginning to think it wouldn't work when he said a single word, "No,"
Hermione could see his brow furrow in thought. "It looked the same, all the
pieces were still mismatched." She was barely able to hold in her sigh of
relief. Even so, if the pieces had changed the dream wouldn't have given any
hint to change them, would it? "It looked as if it had been protected though,
there was a slit in the ground surrounding it shaped like a square," he went
silent and she stared as he recalled the details from the dream, "On the sides
there was an impression of a circle, like iron bars. It must have been
surrounded by them before, but in the dream they had sunk into the sand, buried
beneath it anyway. There were marks on the pedestal glowing at the start but
then quickly grew dim when I approached... any protection for it was gone when
I was in front of the pedestal." She glanced back down when he stopped speaking
for a time. "Why do you think Anicent Greece has anything to do with the box?"
Her throat seemed to close. It hadn't worked. She needed something else then.
There had to be something, some- "Was there anyone in the dream with you?" With
the woman and skeleton in hers she figured it was a possibility and she needed
more time to figure out how to go about answering his question if he continued
to ask.
"No. If there was I didn't see anyone, or anything." His warm breath on her
shoulder moved to her neck until she could feel his lips run along her ear when
he spoke next, "Hermione."
Her name had come out low, in a growl that sent her heart hammering away in her
chest. She shivered in his grip only to feel his arm tighten around her, to
have another wrapping around her body not long after. It just made her heart
quicken. "It... the woman was speaking in greek and there was letters in what I
think is greek from in my dream."
His grip loosened and she found she could breath easier. "What letters?"
Hermione took in quick breaths to try and slow the beating of her heart.
"Hermione, could you write them?"
She glanced to him, still breathing quickly. His hand moved up her back, along
her neck, before his fingers were pressing softly into her skull, getting
tangled in her hair. She leaned into the touch, her pulse starting to calm and
she nodded, "Yes." she still remembered the spelling on both the inn and the
slate of stone perfectly.
He didn't move but she heard movement across the room, shuffling of parchment
and the uncapping of a bottle of ink. In the next moment she found herself
being rolled over with him, his other arm dropping to encircle her waist. It
took her a few seconds to realize he had rolled onto his back and was now
leaning up against the bedframe with her ontop of him... Her cheeks burned from
the last time she had been in a similar position, though this time her back was
pressed to his chest. A parchment and quill were floating above her and she
grabbed for the writing utensil to write the letters down quickly onto the
paper.
-Inn
Opos kai parapano, etsi kai kato.
-Stone
Edo vrisketai i aionia kolasi.
Eimaste ena me ti sfaira.
She stared at the words after writing them, mind flashing to those too real
dreams. "I..." she shook her head to disperse the path her thoughts had taken.
"I got a greek english dictionary when I was at school." There was hardly a
seconds pause until that same book came flying in through an open door that
closed when it passed over the threshold.
His hand moved from her waist to grab it, opening it up before letting it go to
float next to the parchment, the pages turning when he flicked his wrist. She
watched him translate the words silently since he had taken the quill from her
hand, writing out translations next to her own handwriting.
-Inn
Opos kai parapano, etsi kai kato. / As Above, So Below.
-Stone
Edo vrisketai i aionia kolasi. / Here Lies Eternal Hell.
Eimaste ena me ti sfaira. / We Are One With The Realm.
She blinked in confusion at the inn, and then he had the bottom two done and
she looked to them becoming even more confused. "Do you know what any of it
means?" Barty's voice right next to her ear made her jump slightly and she felt
his arm wrap back around her waist a second later.
"No... there was a star carved into the sign of the inn with the letters but,"
she frowned, "I don't know." Hermione ran the first line through her head
again, "I guess... as above, so below with that star could be the night sky
and... the earth? I'm not sure."
"Hell is below the earth," she shivered when her gaze dropped down to the line
that mentioned it. Eternal hell... it would explain the flames and blood but
that woman hadn't called it hell, the name she had given it didn't sound like
any of the words in that sentance. Knowing what the words meant wasn't making
her any less confused about the dream.
"I can't," she murmured, raising a hand to cover her eyes so she didn't have to
see the words anymore that were starting to swim around in her mind.
"Hermione?" There was a rustle from the parchment, a thud when the bi-lingual
dictionary was set ontop of the desk. His hand that had still been threading
through her hair lowered to her forehead. "Are you okay?" She didn't respond,
her head beginning to pound which she knew would lead to a nasty headache. This
was all too much. She didn't want to think about the words but they kept
slipping into her mind. Eternal hell... her life certainly seemed to be heading
in that direction lately. "Maybe as above is heaven, it makes some sense with
the mention of hell. Polar opposites."
"Maybe," she murmured, hoping that was it. Just some riddle. If Barty wanted to
ponder over it and guess he could but she didn't want to think about it any
longer. She just couldn't. What she needed was a distraction of some sort as
her mind was starting to fill with other thoughts now. Her head hurt and she
didn't want to concentrate on any of them but one stuck with her, "How did you
get out of Azkaban, this time?"
The breath that had been continuous next to her ear seemed to halt and she
tried to look back at him but the fingers still wrapped in her hair made it
hard to get the appropriate angle. Even the slow rising and fall of his chest
beneath her had stopped. She shut her eyes quickly, hoping he would just answer
her question this one time. That she hadn't somehow made him angry- "Not now,"
she blinked, opening her eyes. His voice... she tilted her head further,
finally able to catch sight of him from the corner of her eye.
She had expected for him to being looking anywhere but her, that she could get
away with a quick glance but his eyes met her gaze. That hard look that had
been present even in his school photo wasn't there anymore, it reminded her of
the other weekend. I hurt him again, but how? It was just a question. She felt
a spike in her blood, a rush of anger in her veins and she parted her lips to
spit venom at him, "You can't tell me because you don't want to? Or because
Voldemort doesn't want the Order knowing how he got a highly guarded prisoner
out of Azkaban right under their noses?"
His gaze flickered away almost instantly, jaw set. "Not now, Hermione."
"Then when?" she snapped, trying to catch his eye again but he wasn't looking
at her and that hand in her hair tightened as if to stop her from trying.
"You're going to have to answer me eventually Barty! You can't keep evading me
like this!" she brought her hand up as she spoke to try and disentangle his
hand from her hair. "Let go!" Her fingers twisted and she yelped when a harsh
tug of her own was rewarded with pain lancing through her already pounding
skull. Fingers quickly brushed over the spot and she hissed as it was his hand,
his fingers massaging the place causing the pain to dampen. Inflicting pain on
her one minute to be taking it away the next. This was bloody ridiculous! "I
told you to let go-"
"No."
"Barty!" she shouted, twisting her fingers deeper into the mass of curls even
though his own seemed to keep evading hers without a problem.
"I'm not letting you go until you calm down."
"Until I calm down!" she twisted now but his arm around her waist just locked
downaround her. "All I want is the answer to my question! I want to know how
you got out and why Voldemort chose you of all people to get the information
from me! Hell, he could have recruited someone I didn't already know instead of
you!"
"Hermione-"
"Don't you tell me to calm down again Barty Nyle Crouch Junior! You never
answer any of my questions and yet you torture my answers from me! You fucking
manipulated me! Bastard!" she wasn't sure how long she continued, just that her
own screams added to the ache in her head. That his damn fingers kept taking
away the worst of it. That her own were so tangled she had stopped trying to
move them because whenever she did it just made the pain worse.
By the end she found herself sobbing. Not completely sure why she was crying
but unable to stop. Barty was speaking softly again, "...there. Don't worry
about any of it right now. I already told you I won't do that again," her
sniffle could be heard when he paused, "I shouldn't have done that." She just
blinked and continued crying unsure of what he was even reffering to. He
shouldn't have done any of it, and yet, it sounded as if he was talking about
something specific.
The words kept getting caught in her throat as to what he had meant were
blocked even by a soft hybrid of a hiccup and a sob. It took a few more minutes
until most of her tears had subsided and she had control of her voice again.
When she first parted her lips though she winced. Her throat felt like it had
been rubbed raw and practically stung when she managed to get a word out,
"Why?" she watched as his hand pulled stray strands of her hair from her face.
"Why not?" Hermione repeated, not even trying to make sense of his whispers
from before anymore. She just wanted to know why he wouldn't answer her.
The silence was beginning to become unbearable and she was about to try and
wrestle her way out of his grip again when he muttered, "So I don't have to lie
to you."
For a moment she held her tongue, letting his words sink in. With how much
honesty seemed to matter to him his answer didn't fully surprise her, but, "Is
the truth that bad?"
"Not to me." Hermione frowned. What was that suppose to mean? How could the
truth be bad to one person and good to another? Wasn't it one or the other?
She sighed, wishing she could raise her other hand to her forehead and try to
rub the headache away. Her gaze slid around the room-then back. An A and M
glowed in the flicker of a candle that highlighted the arms of the clock a
second later. She stared at it for a few long seconds, "I have to go." There
was a disgruntled mutter above her, though she had no idea why he would want to
keep her here after all her yelling. He really is insane. "Now." Not really
now, more like three hours ago. "Barty, let me go, please. I'm calm but I'm not
going to be calm much longer if I miss another class."
It took a moment but his arm slipped from her waist, hand retracting from her
hair and slowly pulling her own from the mass of curls. She was going to have
to brush it before she could get to her next class. "Hermione," she paused in
her now sitting position as she had started to get up. Turning her head she
glanced to Barty to seem him closer than she had suspected he was. His own eyes
only inches from hers. "Can I kiss you?"
She blinked, staring at him. Since when did he ask? She was just somone he
used-Hermione flinched then. No, not only him. She had used him to. To keep him
and her out of the Prophet and keep the Ministry in their desperate scramble to
use them. "Yes," a smile slowly crossed his features. She didn't see all of it
before his lips were on hers and she closed her eyes trying to ignore the
beating of her heart as he left soft feather-light kisses on her mouth before
moving to her cheek. "I have to go," she repeated, voice no louder than a
whisper this time. With some effort she pulled away, only opening her eyes when
she had turned to face the wall and wouldn't seem him still lying on the bed,
shirtless and staring after her as she walked from the room. If the two burning
holes on her bare back was any indicator.
When she got to Defense Against the Dark Arts with her school robes on and hair
brushed to get rid of the knots she had walked quickly to her seat when Snape's
back was turned, to have Ron immediately hiss under his breath, "Where have you
been?"
"That's an excellent question." Hermione's mouth snapped shut turning her gaze
slowly to the front of the room were Professor Snape stood, glaring down his
hooked nose at her. "You missed half of my class Miss Granger and I recall
hearing you weren't at your first class either. Twenty points from Gryffindor!"
"Twenty?"
"Do you have a permission form Miss Granger?"
"No, but-"
"Then there is no reason for you to be late to my class. The only excuse that
will work is if you were at the Ministry and Dumbledore would have recieved
notifaction if that was the case and told me and your other Professor that you
weren't able to come to class today." Snape's eyes narrowed, "I expect students
to learn in my classroom not cause a ruckus-"
"I didn't-" Hermione protested. No one had made a sound when she came in and
there had been no ruckus!
"-and disrupt my teachings." he finished as if she hadn't spoken. There was an
unpleasant pause before he snapped, "Ten more points from Gryffindor!" before
walking back to the front of the classroom to continue his lecture that she
hadn't disrupted.
"Greasy old bat," Ron hissed under his breath and Hermione saw Harry nod his
head in agreement before glancing to Hermione.
"Where were you?" he whispered behind his book.
"At home," she said quickly while fishing her book from her pack so she wasn't
facing him. So he wouldn't see the slight blush on her cheeks, both from lying
and the fact that she could still remember the feel of Barty's kisses on her
skin. "My parents got the full document for the law and flipped out all over
again."
Harry nodded his head sympathetically just before Snape's voice cut through the
air again, "That's five more points from Gryffindor, Potter. I'll be sure to
tell McGonagall exactly who lost the points."
Harry muttered something under his breath, thankfully Snape didn't seem to hear
and Hermione nudged him with her shoulder to make sure he wouldn't say anything
else throughout the class.
***** Chapter 21 *****
"By Merlin, why would you seek to aggravate Snape?" McGonagall said while
setting a quill aside, looking up from the half-marked test on her desk to the
students infront of her. "You know he has it in for you in particular Potter,
and Granger, did you have to talk back?" Yes. "As well as miss your first class
and half of Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Okay, not that. Hermione blamed
Barty for that. "Potter, detention this weekend, my office. You are dismissed."
She bit her lip as Harry turned and walked from the room, catching a scowl
across his face before he went out of the door that closed behind him. With it
shut now she started to speak, "Professor-"
"How come you weren't at your classes this morning? You've never missed class
before. What could possibly be more important?" McGonagall asked with a deep
frown etched on to her face.
"My parents," Hermione said quickly, remembering what she had told her friend.
It was better than the truth anyway-oh. That's what it had meant when he said
that. The truth could be good for one person to know but bad for another. But
why would it be bad for her to know how he got out of Azkaban? She sighed,
whatever the reason she didn't have time to think about it right now. "I was
staying with them the other night like I always do after being out with Blaise
for the day and this morning they saw the document detailing the law and...
basically all hell broke loose. My mum got upset when I told her about the
marriage law before but this time she completely flipped out and my dad wasn't
much help in the matter either. He wasn't actually there when I told my mother
so he heard about it first from her rather than me," she took a breath, hating
herself for the card she was about to pull but she couldn't very well tell
McGonagall that the reason she was late today was because she had been with
Bartemius Crouch Junior. This woman knew he wasn't a reformed Death Eater like
The Prophet was trying to make him out to be. Like the Ministry wanted
everybody to believe. "I'm sorry Professor, I just wasn't paying attention to
the time and-"
"It's okay," her gut twisted at how easily those words had worked. "This new
law has been hard on everyone. I just hope all the students in my House keep
getting lucky with their matches. Obviously it's worked out well for you and
Blaise so far. He's a decent Slytherin," My match isn't a Slytherin though. He
was sorted into Ravenclaw when he attended this school and he grew to be a
follower of Voldemort. He's the man that brought him back, along with the
stupid rat. She found herself wondering what McGonagall would say if she knew
the truth. Calling him decent was likely to be the last on the list. Murderer,
lunatic, manipulative acting bastard. Those all sounded like things that would
be on top of her list. Especially with the events of fourth year... "Doesn't
cause too much trouble, even if he is friends with Malfoy."
Those stupid pranks Malfoy pulled couldn't come close to what her husband had
done. The fact that McGonagall was basically comparing Barty to Malfoy made her
want to laugh, but she kept it in, her face neutral on that matter. "I'm really
sorry Professor-" Hermione said as she grabbed her bag of books, moving the
strap over her shoulder. The skin there still seemed to tingle from all the
kisses Barty had laid on it.
"Hermione," she frowned at the tone of voice, looking back up at her Professor
who let out a sigh, "I still need you to come in for detention," McGonagall
paused as if considering her next words, "Be in my office with Potter this
weekend."
Her heart felt like it had just jumped straight from her chest into her throat.
"W-weekend?" she couldn't do that. It was impossible t-
"The law requires for you to simply be in the same vicinity as your match for
three days," Three days? It was two. The weekend. She didn't see her match
until the weekend and if she didn't fill the requirements of the law they
would... they would... "I know this will cut into the usual time you two have
aside from Hogwarts-" He isn't in Hogwarts! She was tempted to scream if her
voice wasn't still recovering from this morning. If it wouldn't mess up
everything she had set up to make sure no one knew that little fact. "You'll
just have to cancel whatever plans you made for this week-" Cancel what? A
picnic in Grand Central Park? Wherever the fuck that was. She didn't have
anything to cancel! The law certainly wasn't going to allow her to put off her
weekly just because she got detention! "I'm sure Blaise will understand-" Blood
pounded in her ears, drowning out the words. Her vision seemed to fold in on
itself as her breath came fast, "G-an-e-?" McGonagall must have raised her
voice since some of it filtered through, but she couldn't make heads or tails
of it. Her head swam, seeing black dots that kept growing larger... and then
there was pain shooting up her arm.
                                     / / /
"Miss Granger!"
The shout from inside the office made Harry turn to the door reaching out to
open it when McGonagall appeared in the doorway, the slam of the door
connecting with the stone wall filling the classroom. "Professor?" Harry turned
to look into the office spotting Hermione's body on the floor.
"Potter, get out of the way. I'm taking Granger to the infirmary."
"What happened?" Harry asked as McGonagall waved her want to levitate Hermione
off of the ground. "Professor?" he pressed, taking a step forward when she
didn't say anything immediately.
McGonagall frowned, looking to him, "She passed out. Now get out of the way,
Potter."
He blinked, stepping back. "Pomfrey is out today though-" How was taking
Hermione to the infirmary going to help her then?
"The school sent for a nurse at Saint Mungos. Don't you have somewhere else to
be?" Barely a second later the professor was out the door with his levitated
friend. Harry didn't hesitate to get out of the room and track down Ginny and
Ron to tell them what had happened.
                                     / / /
It was dark. If she could see she imagined it would just be shadows. Unless it
was just some sort of eternal darkness with not even a flicker of light-
A throb in her shoulder cut through her thoughts and she winced, eyes opening a
moment later. Even so she didn't see anything for a couple seconds, dark
blotches across her vision shrunk down, clearing slowly so she could see gray
stone along with beds opposite of her against an opposing wall. They had rails
on the sides... the infirmary. What was she doing here?
"Oh, you're up." A familiar, too cheerful voice came from her right, "Just stay
laying down for now as I apply the balm. It might sting a bit but otherwise you
shouldn't feel much besides being a little sore from that fall you took."
"Fall?" Hermione turned her head to the left, noticing her school robe slung
over one of the chairs. How the heck had she gotten here? She didn't remember
falling, just her vision going black, her heart beating too loud in her ears,
and something else. Something about...
"You passed out back in McGonagall's office. From what she told me you seem to
have gone into a panic attack and blacked out because of it." The nurse
speaking made her thoughts shatter and she struggled for a moment to regain
them before giving up. Her head hurt too much to think about it right now.
"When you fell though you hit your head," That certainly explained the pounding
in her skull. "You landed on your shoulder mostly so that's going to be sore
for a few days and you have some bruising along your arm as well. It'll go away
in time."
There was a soft pop to her right as a container was opened and Hermione turned
her head to look at the woman, blinking when she recognized her. "Mrs. Vandis?"
What was her nurse doing in Hogwarts?
"Just stay still for a moment," Hermione flinched almost right after the last
word left the medi-witch. A warm substance was being rubbed into her shoulder,
sending out little stinging sensations whenever it was moved around. Thankfully
they lessened after each time until she didn't even feel it any longer. The
feeling returned though when she felt the balm rubbed along her arm as well in
smaller doses. "There. That wasn't too bad was it, Cupcake?"
She opened her mouth to say it hadn't been that bad but stopped to stare at the
nurse. Did she just call her that? Or was she just not hearing her correctly?
Though if that was the case she could only be calling her one other thing,
"Don't call me that."
Mrs. Vandis just smiled at the sharp tone in her voice. "What? Cupcake? Or Cr-
" Hermione's eyes widened, hands going up to cover her mouth but the nurse
stepped back with a laugh. "I got the memo from the Ministry. Don't worry the
only other person in here is a student and they're fast asleep, knock-out
potion for their own good. The patient was moving too much when they needed to
be lying down and healing." She took a moment to put the cap back on the
container holding the rest of the stinging balm inside.
Hermione took it as her chance to ask, "Why are you calling me that? It's
Granger to you."
"No," Mrs. Vandis set the container aside, "It's Granger to everyone here and
the general public. Now I understand why you made the decision considering some
of the supposed, 'scandals' that the Daily Prophet is writing about and what
they would do with your situatuion if they heard about it. But, I'm not going
to call you by a name that you don't use anymore. And since I can't call you by
your last name, and don't know you well enough to use your first name, you are,
Cupcake, to me." Bloody perfect.
She frowned looking back to her robe. "Can I go now?"
"Not yet, I want you to stay here for a couple hours and if you do get up I
would suggest not doing it too fast. Your friends are waiting outside and want
to come in to see you. Apparently it's important. So, I'll let them come in but
you can't be trying to escape with them, okay?"
Hermione sighed, "Fine." her arm was sore anyways, pushing herself up with it
would probably just result in more pain and she didn't need to be getting a
headrush like the nurse had mentioned.
"Great!" Vandis started to turn but then looked back over her shoulder at
Hermione, "One more thing, keep the sleeve up as the solution sets in or else
it'll get your shirt sticky." She glanced down to mentioned sleeve as heels
tapped across the wood and she could hear a door open.
"Hermione," she glanced towards the door to see Harry, Ron, and Ginny running
over to her bedside. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just some bruising." Hermione pushed herself up with her uninjured
arm so she was sitting with her back against pillows instead of lying down, to
convince her friends further. "Mrs. Vandis said you had something important to
tell me?"
"Yeah, I was waiting for you to come out of McGonagall's office before when she
gave both of us detention," from his frown he obviously didn't think they
should have gotten detention, "Slughorn wants the both of us to come to his
Slug Club meeting next week, it's during a school day so I said you should be
able to make it."
Well, atleast Slughorn was considerate when it came to her time with her match
on the weekends, unlike McGonagall. Her fingers curled into the white sheets
beneath them at the reminder that she had detention. She was going to need to
get around that somehow. "I'll be there," she replied, wondering if she still
would have been invited if she had missed his class. "You should leave now, or
else Mrs. Vandis will probably kick you out."
"When will you be out?" Ginny asked, apparently able to squeeze a word in now
that Harry had stopped talking.
"In a few hours I think. I'm not in bad shape so I should be down in the hall
for dinner."
"Okay, get better."
"I will." Hermione replied.
"Yeah, you rest up and we'll see about getting on McGonagall's good side." Ron
said, then hurried as if to clarify, "Not for you to go see Blaise this
weekend-"
"Ron!" Ginny practically yelled, punching her brother in the process, "Don't be
rude and get that stick out of your ass."
"Ow! You're the one with a stick up their ass." Ron dodged another punch as he
continued, "I'm just saying the Slytherins got out of their detention early
over that boggart incident. There's no reason you can't get out early over a
little back talk and skipped classes."
Hermione smiled slightly, glad Ron wasn't taking another punch at her supposed
match. "Thanks."
"Just you wait. You'll probably only be in there for an hour when I'm done with
the professor."
"Shut up Ron. You'll make her stay longer." Ginny said, grabbing his arm and
Hermione watched the three walked out with Ron protesting that he could to
shorten the time instead of lengthening it.
***** Chapter 22 *****
Chapter Notes
     You get to have your first actual look at the Lagata Macul in this
     fic, which will (and has) appear/ed in other fics of mine. Joy! (by
     the way, i completely forget what latin words i combined to make the
     title so trying google translate won't help you if you're curious.
     but it should help you if you want to translate the bit in here for
     no apparent reason[though that's in nepali, blame the author for the
     million and one languages it uses, and thank Barty and other previous
     owners for the random notes])
     Also, I have not stopped updating. So with that out of the way please
     enjoy the latest installment, tell me what you think after reading,
     the usual.
Her mind was currently spinning as she turned a corner, looking down the hall
before making her way to the next one. Seriously, why was it so hard to find
one person? She knew where the Slytherin Commons were and had gone there first,
asking the first Syltherin she saw where Blaise was. Of course, they hadn't had
a clue.
She bit at her lip, chewing on the skin as she dodged around a ghost to look
down another hall. Where was he? She hadn't even see Draco during her search
who she was sure would know where his friend was. Who designed this school to
be so large? It might as well be a maze of halls and classrooms with the way it
breached out with no particular care for the direction. The stairs weren't much
help either since they were always moving around, not caring for where a
student was trying to go unless classes were in session. It must have seemed
like a good idea at the time of Hogwarts creation. All of these enhanced the
magical feel of the castle but right now she just found it frustrating.
Where the bloody hell was he? This was important! She needed to speak with him
or else there was no way her plan would work, everyone would know she didn't go
to see Blaise during the weekends if she couldn't find him before then.
Tomorrow would be the day. Just the reminder set her on edge. Detention
afterwards. A detention she couldn't afford to be at if her match was going to
stay a secret.
With a mutter she rounded another corner, cursing the building and ignoring a
portait that told her to, 'mind her manners.' "Blaise!" she shouted, upon
seeing the Slytherin robes down the hall. When the figure turned she let out a
sigh of relief and raced down the hall to him. "Where have you been? I've been
looking everywhere for you! Didn't any of the other Slytherins tell you that? I
left a message with each one. How could you not even contact me-"
"Hey!" Blaise threw his arms up into the air and she paused. "I didn't know you
were looking for me. I swear."
Hermione sucked in a breath, trying to get air back in her lungs after all her
racing around to find him loitering in a random hallway of all things. She
scowled at him, "I told the other Slytherins that I was looking for you. Surely
you have some sneaky ways to get messages to each other."
Blaise took a step back. "We might. Other Slytherins, are the key words here
though. You may be my match, hypothetically speaking that is, but you're still
a Gryffindor and quite honestly you don't look very friendly right now." At her
frown he continued quickly, "I'm not saying you're-Merlin. There Slytherins
okay? House rivalry doesn't disappear because of some law, if they said they
would tell me they were likely just joking with you. I'm sorry."
She sighed. It was something she probably should have expected but still, this
was important and those idiots had hindered her instead of helping her. If she
found any of the Slytherins she had talked to today-no not right now. She had
found Blaise, she would find time to strangle those snakes later. "Whatever. I
need you to go out with your match this weekend."
"Pardon?"
"This weekend," Hermione repeated, the desperation she had felt all day
starting to seep into her voice now, "I need you to get away from Hogwarts,
okay? If anyone asks about it just say it's some sort of unrefundable ticket or
something... I don't know, make it up."
"Um, Hermione? Aren't you forgetting that you have detention this weekend?
Snape told me about it after McGonagall told him so I would know to stay here.
I can't just... leave."
She stared at him for a moment. What? Then it hit her. Of course Snape would
tell him that, because the detention was during the weekend but- "I thought you
liked being away from Hogwarts with your match during the weekend."
"Yes, but-"
"Look, I don't care what Snape said, told you, whatever," Hermione interupted
as she was now scowling at him. This couldn't possibly be happening. She needed
him away from this school so her alibi checked out later. "Just leave the
school. It doesn't matter, okay? The detention thing doesn't matter. Go with
your match, ignore what Snape said. Have a... whatever with your match. You
cannot be here this weekend."
"What do you plan to do? Skip detention after skipping class?" She glared at
the exaggeration in his tone. "If it is it's just not the most orginal plan and
they'll figure it out pretty quickly."
She couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. "They will not figure it out too
quickly if you're not here and out with your match this weekend. Besides, you
got your detention shortened by Snape, and leading a boggart into the Great
Hall to scare the first years is more of an offense than not being able to go
to class because you were arguing with your parents about the law. At least,
that's what a sane person would think." She still couldn't believe him and
Malfoy had been left off that easily. One of the benchs for the Hufflepuff
table had broken during the boggart fiasco and yet Snape had intervened in what
had been McGonagall's punishment for the two. Her blood was pounding again, but
for a completely different reason than on Monday. "Why would you lead a boggart
into the Great Hall anyway? Were you just that bored? You're Malfoy's friend,
aren't you? Don't you know how to tell your friends when something is a bad
idea so stuff like that doesn't happen in the first place?" Her voice had risen
so much that she was on the verge of screaming by the time she paused for a
breath, reaching up with her hand to rub lightly at her throat.
Blaise took a step closer and she could see he was looking at the bruise that
ran down the upper part of her right arm. "That was... circumstantial." He
turned to look her in the eye then. "Draco also has this sort of agreement with
Snape this year, which is why we got out of the detention early. We did that to
scare the first years though like you said, not... you and the rest of the
school in the process. I probably should have apologized for that before." She
nodded slightly at this, still rubbing at her throat. Apparently it hadn't
fully recovered from Monday. "It's not like we knew a Death Eater would appear.
I know that sounds stupid, but Draco needed that prank to go right. As his
friend I couldn't say no because of what's been going on this year. What with
the Death Eaters out and Draco..." Blaise sighed, "He's not himself this year.
If you're friend looked the way he does these days even you would do what you
could to cheer him up. He's a wreck and..."
This time when he paused Hermione frowned, it was longer this time and Blaise
looked nervous, like he didn't want to say it. "And?" she asked, not sure if
she wanted to hear what he was thinking about saying.
Blaise relented, "At the Hog's Head, after you left he mentioned knowing who
your match is." She blinked, staring at him. Her mind was already spinning,
crashing right through the safeguard along the cliff. That would mean- "He
didn't tell me anything. He just mentioned it. I don't know who your match is,
but he knows and I thought you should know."
The words might as well have tumbled from his mouth like a waterfall with how
fast they came out. Even so her mind slowed and she sighed in relief. The
absolute last thing she needed was anyone at school knowing who her match was,
and now that she knew Blaise didn't know about Barty it made sense. Draco was a
Malfoy, his parents already knew about her match. Hell, they had been there
when she was married off to him by the Ministry. It really shouldn't be that
surprising that he knew. Besides he hadn't told Blaise who it was, just that he
knew. Everything was fine then. Her match still wasn't known by the general
public. No one would be gawking at her, whispering behind her back... None of
that was happening. "Thanks for telling me."
Blaise nodded, looking relieved himself only to be staring past her in the next
second. Hermione whirled around quickly to see who he was staring at, why he
looked so shocked. She really should have pulled him into one of the empty
classrooms for this. That was the one concurring thought going through her head
until she met eye contact with another girl.
Daphne Greengrass stood in the middle of the hallway, eyes moving between the
two, a partial frown on her face as she walked forward. Hermione took a step
back when she passed her to Blaise. "So," Daphne stopped, looking at Blaise
with narrowed eyes. "We're going this weekend then as well. Why didn't you tell
me so I could get the plans back in place that you screwed up with this
foolishness?"
For a second Blaise just stood there, mouth hanging open, and then it slammed
shut a moment later. "You do remember what Snape said-"
"No." Daphne said firmly, scowling at him now and Hermione could only think how
sorry she felt for him right now, being glared at like that. "Snape asked you
to not go anywhere this weekend, he didn't tell you not to. He didn't
explicitly say, 'Blaise, I don't want you going out this weekend with your
match.' It was a request, not an order. Stop acting like it is." The Slytherin
turned then, eyes landing on Hermione, the glare no longer present even in the
depths of green. "We'll be gone this weekend. You won't have to worry about us
being here."
Hermione blinked. So... Daphne was Blaise's match. She hoped her knowing this
didn't suddenly stop their agreement. "Thank you." she said, looking to Blaise
then, "Both of you." It was a relief that they wouldn't be here. A part of her
plan was done now, the major part anyway. It would be time for the next part
soon enough and she turned to run back down the hall to get to the Gryffindor
Tower.
                                     / / /
There was an explosion to the right, though Ginny didn't look over at the
younger years currently playing Exploding Snap. She was opting to ignore the
loud bursts that came from them every other second it seemed. It was in these
instances she wished her brothers were still at Hogwarts to make fun of the
group and their amateur tactics. So they would just stop and the Commons
wouldn't be quite so loud. So that she could hear the conversation Harry and
Ron were having just a foot away on the couch. Instead all she could hear were
snippets.
"...how would that work? With the..."
"Yeah, I know, the bludger..."
"...bat, or there's..."
From what it sounded like it was about Quidditch. Tryouts had just finished
last week and soon Harry would need to put up a training schedule for the new
team. McGonagall was likely to look over it, make sure the pitch was available
for the days they wanted it. Some of those days would be regretted as it got
colder and they started having to practice in the rain.
Ginny glanced to the door leading to the Professors room, temporarily not
paying attention to the words coming through between the exploding snaps. It
was because of her that the Gryffindor team would be practicing this weekend
without their team captain and she was sure that was on purpose. Also
completely uncalled for considering what she had heard about what happened in
Snape's room. Ron had been louder and yet Harry was singled out for talking
behind a book. Hermione as well, it made more sense that she was given
detention for not being at her classes, but they were both given the same time
and place. It was unfair.
She supposed it had something to do with Snape cutting Malfoy's detention short
for his prank that had made quite a few younger students have nightmares. Not
that Ginny could blame them. Even if those children hadn't been here when Barty
was disguised as Moody, completely playing the teachers, the students even. He
almost killed Harry. He might as well have killed Cedric Diggory since he had
made the goblet into a port key.
That still made her sad whenever she thought about it. None of it should have
happened. It should have been a friendly competition between the three schools
but it ended up a horror story instead. These students should not be having
trouble sleeping because of a Slytherin's prank that otherwise would have been
quite harmless compared to others. They shouldn't be coming down the stairs to
wake up McGonagall and be reassured that none of them were going to die. That
the Death Eaters couldn't get into the school. That Voldemort wasn't going to
kill any of them.
With a sigh she turned back to look at Harry and Ron, the explosion of a snap
still rebounding from one side of her head to the other when the bang of the
door reached her ears. It took a moment for her to differentiate the sound from
the snaps but then she turned to glance over at the door, to see Hermione
walking quickly across the room, heading straight to the stairs leading up to
the girl dorms.
"Hermione!" She stopped and turned at Harry's call, looking slightly annoyed.
"Could you come over for a second? We got a new theory on that box-"
"I don't have the time right now Harry," she said and then was gone, up the
stairs within the next second.
Ron huffed from his seat and Ginny stood to walk over until the students
started playing their game again after the small interruption. "Is it just me
or is Hemione ignoring us?"
"It's just you." Ginny told him with a frown as she sat on the arm of the couch
next to Harry.
Ron scowled at her. "It is not just me. How many times have you seen her this
week?" She rolled her eyes, it was a bit of an unfair question since she didn't
have any classes with her what with being a year below all of them. "Harry?"
He shrugged when the question was redirected at him. "She's been like this
since Monday. It's probably because of the detention this weekend," he scowled
here, "Can't say I blame her. It should have been during the week. You saw her
at the infirmary, the bruises when she fell. When she got the detention it
upset her quite a bit. It's not like she's ignoring you to ignore you."
"Define that last sentence please." Ron requested giving his friend a frown of
his own.
Harry just laughed. "You know what I mean. It's nothing personal." He turned
toward Ginny then, "Could you run the theory by her? Since she ran to the
dorms."
"Sure." Ginny said, hopping off of the furniture. "I'll be right back and tell
you what she thinks." With a wave she turned and headed across the room and up
the stairs. Considering the new theory was made a few days ago she imagined
that was the reason Ron thought Hermione was avoiding them. Since they hadn't
been able to find her afterwards, but then again she hadn't seen her except for
when eating at the Great Hall for the most part this week. Ron was just taking
it personally.
She stopped infront of the door leading to the sixth year room, knocking before
opening the door and slipping inside. Hermione was the only one in the room,
sitting on the edge of her bed and now looking at the door, having slammed a
drawer closed that she had appeared to be going through before Ginny walked
into the room. "Hey Gin," she said.
Ginny took a moment to close the door behind her before walking further into
the room to sit on the bed opposite of Hermione. "Hey, I'm just here to run
that theory by you really quick. Harry wants your opinion on it." A second
passed before there was a nod from her friend. "Well, we have this theory on
how to open the box. We we're thinking, since we couldn't track down the
country of it's origin that it may include numerous countires and would take
multiple languages to open-"
"It's just one language."
"Huh?"
"Greek." Hermione said, but when Ginny waited for her to elaborate she didn't.
Instead she just said, "I have to get a few things ready for tomorrow."
"Sure." Ginny said and stood back up before heading out the door, trying to
push down the feeling that Hermione had essentialy just pushed her out of the
room.
                                     / / /
Ring!
Her eyes flew open when the alarm went off and she sat up, pushing the curtain
aside to see Lavender peering our from behind her own curtain. "Turn that damn
thing off, it's four in the morning and on a Saturday." The curtain closed with
a flap of cloth but Hermione just smiled as she reached over and turned the
alarm off, glancing at the time to see there was ten minutes left. By that time
Lavender should be sleeping again with the rest of her dorm mates and she
wouldn't be here.
Hermione settled back into her bed again, moving the curtain back into place.
Her hand went straight to the silver and onyx earrings. She still didn't know
how to activate them after all the research she had done this week to try and
figure out how Barty had made them timed and only go in the one direction
instead of to and from a designated place like the usual portkey. To activate
them herself and go right now instead of waiting, or even have the option to
leave earlier. With her plan done she just hoped McGonagall wasn't up and
wandering the dorms for anyone that might be sneaking out. If she got caught
somehow then all of this would be for nothing.
Her hand lowered, slipping into her pocket, thumb moving over the small black
silk box within. It had held the earrings before and was still empty currently
even though she had told herself she would find something to put in it. She
hadn't found anything so far, nothing that would fit anyway. Even if she put an
extendable charm on the box it was still to small for most items and wouldn't
be able to be very deep since only a few of her fingers could fill in the space
that was available. She rolled her thumb over the fabric for a few seconds
before retracting her hand and closing her eyes, just waiting for the world to
feel like it was spinning. For the air to pick up around her, as if she was
twirling.
When it did come the sound of air rushing past her body filled her ears and
hers alone. The small charms on the curtains held most of the sound in, within
the next few minutes the charms would disappear as if she had never set them
there. As if she hadn't planned any of it.
The air stilled around her and she opened her eyes, blinking at the thin
streaks of grey light reaching across the room from the lone window. It was
quiet, the room was devoid of anyone inside and... She blinked again when her
gaze went up, the light fixture that had been attached to the ceiling was gone.
The snakes with the lights hanging from their fangs were no longer there,
instead it was a raven's eye just in the middle of the fan.
Wait. That was the same...
She looked back to the window, to the bench beneath that was now devoid of the
lock. Mainly because it had been moved to the fan, it was no longer glowing.
Hermione reached down, fingers coming in contact with her wand. It was still
there? She gripped the wood, pulling it out from the inner pocket to look it
over in the dim light. It was hers, not a fake then. Not a replica that just
appeared in its place. Why did she still have it?
Hermione glanced up, scanning the room for life once again before making her
way to her room and setting her wand on the side table. She just stared at it
for a moment as if it would disappear like all the other times she came here.
More than a month and each time it would be gone from her person seconds after
she was in the house. Except for this time. Why?
She turned from the table to walk out of her room and back into the hall, only
stopping once more when she was infront of the one other room she had been
inside that wasn't a bedroom. The complicated lock was still in place. It
hadn't moved like everything else so far. She still wasn't sure what to make of
any of it as she turned from that door going down the hallway to push open the
one leading to his room.
Her nose crinkled almost immediately and she raised a hand to cover it and keep
the odd odor from getting into her nostrils. There was a noise to her right,
something bubbling, the sound of a flame flickering. "Barty?" she questioned as
she turned to see him standing infront of his desk, a cauldron on top of it.
"What is that?" It smelled horrible, made her stomach twist. She could have
sworn her eyes had begun to roll into the back of her head when she first
stepped into the room. Whatever it was it certainly wasn't healthy to be
brewing it in a room with no windows and the door closed.
"Sa eko chala." Was all he said while flickering through some pages in a book,
continuing to stir the potion as he did. After a moment of him not explaining
further she stepped closer to look down at one of the pages.
Sa eko chala bharata ko jadu mantralayale amdhyaro jadu manincha. Vyapaka
ajnata yo ausadhi bhu ana kalo bajara ma varsaundekhi udanga cha tapani. Kehi
jiva sataha narama ra khanna garna sajilo bana'era paus ika ahara eka biruva
avasyakata nabha'eko manincha ki bhu'imma malako rupama prayoga tapani yo
mukhya rupa dekhi eka visa rupama prayoga garincha. Eka visa rupa ma yo dherai
jadu'i prajati visakta cha ra garincha bhane andara bahira sa i dvara jadu
niyantra a garna sakne ti (saman yataya pi'una rupama khana visa bhanga ra yo
kama prabhavakari bana'una sakcha).
Sathai sarpa chala cinine. Lizard skin . Snake? Serpent Skin.
[IK: DABMs- as defined by the Ministry of Magic] *fuck the Ministries
She stopped trying to read it when it went back to the unfamiliar text in a
list format. The ingredient list she guessed, but otherwise she wasn't sure
what any of it said. The Ministry obviously didn't think highly of the potion
and she frowned at the substance bubbling in the cauldron.
The liquid was thick, black, and it smelled like death. When one of the bubbles
popped vapors reached into the air, a sort of sick brown in color. It just
increased the stench and she clapped her hand firmly over her mouth to try and
still her stomach. What the hell was it? She hadn't read anything like this in
her own books. From the way it looked though, the way it smelled... it had to
be dark magic. Parting her fingers so she could be heard she asked, "Is it for
the Death Eaters? To use against the Order?"
Barty continued to stir the mixture that seemed to get thicker every second as
he turned to look at her. "No. It's not for the Order." So it was for the Death
Eaters then. Even if he didn't say it it was obvious to her. Anything that
looked like that could only be used by dark wizards.
"What do you plan to do with it?" she asked, letting her hand drop when he put
out the flame beneath the cauldron, a lid now on top that made it easier for
her to breath without feeling the need to retch.
"I'm just making it."
Her lips tugged down into a frown. There he went again, avoiding her question.
Considering what she had seen of the potion maybe it was better she didn't know
what it was, could do, was going to be used for. Since he wasn't talking about
it further it was better to ask something he was more likely to answer anyway.
"You moved the lock."
His gaze met hers at the statement. "It was never a lock," he said, and she saw
his gaze flicker down to her hands within the next second.
She opened them so her empty palms were facing up. "I don't have it. It's in my
room." Hermione let her hands hang by her sides. "Why aren't you... keeping it
away from me?" The question had been bothering her since she noticed her wand
hadn't been taken from her.
"Are you still planning to curse me with it?"
She blinked at his question. At the fact that he was still answering her
questions with other questions. Hermione felt a scowl start to twist her lips.
"No. Should I change my plans? I could go and get it from my room, just accio
it over and curse you if that's what you want."
Her eyes had narrowed at him as she spoke and now she was glaring at him. While
he just stood there, peeling back gloves that must have been used to keep the
ingredients of that potion off his skin. The last one wasn't even fully off
when he just smiled at her and said, "Good." Her eyes widened, just staring at
him now. What did he mean good?
"Bar-"
She stopped short when he leaned over and she felt lips press briefly to her
forehead. A hand on her shoulder an instant later, turning her towards the door
before sliding off, his fingers running down her bare arm in the process. Only
to clasp around her wrist and she felt herself pulled forward until she was out
of his room, until the door was shut behind her and he was no longer gripping
her wrist.
Hermione blinked, standing in the hallway as she watched him walk down and turn
the corner. What... just happened?
She shook her head quickly and moved swiftly through the hall to see he was in
the living room now. To see the raven's eye glowing from it's place on the fan
so the room wasn't dark like when she had arrived. It wasn't too bright either,
though she didn't focus on the new light fixture for too long. Her gaze went to
Barty who was currently on the couch with a quill in hand and writing on a
piece of parchment. After a second of hesitation she walked over, sliding onto
the couch and curling her legs beneath her as she looked at him.
He seemed to be in a good enough mood, it would probably be fine to ask him
something more personal now. While he stayed like this, however long that
lasted. She pushed away any thoughts of why he was like this. Any thoughts of
something going horribly wrong for the Order. If anything had gone wrong she
couldn't do a single thing about it now anyways.
"Can I ask you something?" She watched as he continued writing, seeing the nod
she continued, "The other week," she began, blinking when his quill stopped on
a letter before pressing on, "Monday morning when I woke up and you were," she
hesitated for a moment not sure how to word it. The quill started writing again
and she frowned slightly. Why had he stopped in the first place? "I just, uh, I
don't remember when I umm..." She took a moment to clear her throat. "Did I
take off your shirt?"
"What?" He wasn't looking at the parchment anymore, instead his gaze was on
her. "No, I changed before going to sleep."
Oh. "Right," she muttered, looking down at her hands so she didn't have to look
at him. "And, that's uh..." What word was suppose to work best here? Normal? Of
course it was, these questions were just stupid, a total waste of time.
She sighed, fingers curling into the loose threads of the couch and she found
herself wondering why he kept the furniture in this state. Why did he switch
the snake lights out for the raven's eye? Was he just too busy before or was it
a spur of the moment sort of thing? That certainly seemed to be the case with
her wand. It was still sitting on her dresser. He hadn't even answered her
question about why he gave it back to her. Why was he so... chipper today? Why
couldn't she tell him-Tell him? Tell him what? Her fingers dug deeper into the
furniture as she dipped her head down even further, as the burn in her cheeks
seemed to increase. By Merlin, why the bloody hell was she blushing?
"Hermione? Are you okay?"
No, no, no. "I have to uh," go, the word almost slipped out. Though she
couldn't just leave like she wanted. What she needed was an excuse. "I have
essa-" she stopped short when fingers brushed against her chin and she tried to
turn her head away, to the side. The fingers had curled though and her gaze was
moving up rather than down. Her eyes were on him rather than anywhere but him,
like she wanted.
He was closer than the last time she had been looking at him. Watching him
rather, writing out a letter to a Death Eater most likely-"Hermione?" Her
thoughts scrambled once again, staying hidden when she tried to get ahold of
them.
"Barty," she snapped her mouth shut when it opened of it's own accord, without
her mind's permission. Her cheeks were still hot, that was the first thing her
mind reminded her of when it seemed to get back in order. They were warm, just
like his skin had been that morning. Her waist seemed to burn from when his arm
was draped over it then as well. Her forehead against his chest, her lips
almost-No. "Please, please stay out of my head."
His brow crinkled. "I'm not-"
"Yes you are!" Seeing his eyes widen, feeling his grip loosen she took the
chance to move her head back away from his fingers. "Just stay out," she
muttered, raising her hands to rub at her forehead with the heel. "Please."
Merlin, she should've made them take her to Azkaban. It had to be better than
her current situation. It had to be better then betraying her friends like
this. Then thinking about that damn ritual right now of all things.
Her hands were pulled down, fingers wrapped around her wrists she suspected to
keep her from moving them back up. All she wanted was to cover he eyes, get him
out of her head. Why couldn't he let her do just that? The fact that his touch
was gentle wasn't helping in the least. "Hermione, what's bothering you?"
She squeezed her eyes shut, the one thing she felt she could do at this point
to keep him out. "I..." How was she suppose to tell him? She didn't even want
to think about it in the first place. Just get it - him - out of her head,
permanently.
The cauldron.
Hermione opened her eyes slowly, looking down at the threads when she spoke,
"Can you," she took in a shaky breath, "Can you mix a Potionem Repulsione?"
***** Chapter 23 *****
Chapter Notes
     Random background note, Lunar Embrace and Dare take place in the same
     universe.
     Sorry for the wait with this chapter, it just did not want to end. I
     suppose I'll just tell you all now that I'm working on some Halloween
     Specials and there will be at least one for this pairing.
The room had gone silent at her words and she held her breath. Previously she
could hear his breathing but it seemed to have come to a sudden halt.
She squeezed her eyes shut, unsure if she should have said anything in the
first place. Hermione wasn't even sure if the potion she was asking for existed
but he must have figured out what she meant. What she wanted the potion to do,
to use it for at the very least. If her cheeks had been red before they were
blazing now, and she just wanted it to stop. Because surely if he knew of foul
potions like the sort he was making before he would know of this one,
admittedly less foul. She hoped anyway. If he had the ingredients that is. If
that book next to the cauldron held something like that within it.
Her skin prickled at just the memory of the pages and she shook it off quickly,
putting her arms behind her body so the goosebumps that broke out on her flesh
weren't visible. In the process of doing so she pulled her hands away from his
own, too easily she realized a moment later. His grip must have loosened.
She felt herself relax a bit then. At the fact that he wasn't touching her now.
It had to mean he was thinking over what she had said and - hopefully -
thinking about the potion she wanted so badly right now. That-
They were brushing her chin suddenly and she stilled instantly. His fingertips
were ghosting down her neck, moving over the heated skin until his whole hand
was lying across the back...
"No." Her eyes flew open and she leaned back away from him, heart beating fast
in her chest at the realization he was so close to her. She could feel his warm
breath on her cheek. "No," she repeated to try and keep him at bay, from moving
any closer than he already was.
How he had even managed to get so close without her noticing was beyond her.
She should have felt the couch shift beneath her, should have noticed him
somehow. It was tempting to close her eyes and rub at her forehead once again
but she stopped herself. She needed to keep her head clear so he couldn't do
that again. Her shoulders tensed in the next second. His hand was still there,
fingers moving up to curl into her hair, drawing her forward.
She moved her hands quickly to press against his chest. "Stop."
Her heart slowed when he didn't move any further. "Don't you want to?" The air
seemed to burn her with each word he spoke.
Hermione forced her mouth to move, swallowing to try and get rid of the dryness
in her throat, though it didn't help in the least. "Can you mix it?" Does it
even exist? That's what she really wanted to ask but she kept her lips closed.
She met his gaze, no longer trying to avoid it. This was something she needed
answered, something he should have already answered. It wasn't a complicated
question either and yet he still hadn't said anything. He was just watching
her, like she was watching him now but... it felt different. Like he was
searching for something and she wasn't sure what it could be. Or why whatever
it was would be located in her eyes. "Yes."
A sense of relief rushed over her. It did exist. Then why was he still sitting
there? Not moving an inch, still staring at her. It was starting to unnerve
her. "Will you-"
"No."
Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly. What? "But-" There was just a slight
incline of his head. Still, she recognized that motion from before. He had no
intention of mixing it.
Hermione pushed herself up quickly, tearing herself out of his grip and off the
couch, to make her way down the hall in a rush.
/ / /
Ron yawned for what must have been the twelfth time after getting up only an
hour ago.
Ginny stared wordlessly at her brother before turning away, no longer seeing
the need to comment on it. At this point it was starting to get bloody
annoying. He had slept in until ten o'clock and was yawning as if tired before
it was even afternoon. Honestly, how much sleep did he need?
The door to the Commons swung open and Ginny turned to see McGonagall walk into
the room, robes creating a small draft of wind when she walked. Judging the
slow pace it wasn't anything she needed to concern herself with though so she
turned back to her parchment on the table, quill tapping at the corner of the
page as she tried to figure out how to best word the next paragraph for her
essay in Potions. With a sigh she tried looking over what she had written out
already, hoping it would make something in her mind click so she could have
this over and done with. Potion essays really were the worst homework
assignment to start her day off with.
It is by the Ministry standards that any and all potions that involve the use
of wizard blood is prohibited. Those that contain animals are seen as
acceptable.
For instance, re'em blood, when drunk, gives the drinker immense strength for a
short time. This is a highly desired substance but even though it is cleared to
be sold by the Ministry it is hard to find on an open market because of how
difficult it is to obtain and is more likely to be acquired on the black
market. This is just one example of many creatures the Ministry has allowed the
use of. It should also be noted that the re'em is thought to be a distant
cousin of the unicorn who's blood is prohibited from being used in potions
because of the curse it lays upon the drinker. This has caused a few people to
not touch re'em blood in fear it will poison them eventually like the unicorn
does for drinking it's blood. This effect has been proven to only be prominent
in unicorns though and the fear of this happening is nothing more than a
superstition made by those that wish to acquire this creature's blood to keep
other wizards from going near it.
As such, it should be made clear that any creatures the Ministry does not have
under protection to stop extinction, is classified as a beast by the Ministry
of Magic (a creature without the sufficient intelligence to understand the laws
of the magical community, nor bear part of the responsibility in shaping those
laws), and/or forbidden to have any parts sold for health reasons, can have
their blood used in potions. Those creatures classified as being (with
sufficient intelligence to understand and shape the laws) are forbidden to be
used in potions in this manner.
Potions that require the blood of a creature classified as being is classified
as a form of dark magic defined by the Ministry. More accurately it is a sub-
category of dark magic known as blood magic...
Her quill tapped relentlessly at the end, almost going through the parchment.
The only good thing Ginny could think of right then was that she wasn't working
on her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay and could continue not working on it
until this was finished. She would rather not work on something Snape had
assigned, especially since he had asked for two rolls of parchment on the
subject of inferi.
No one in their right mind would choose to do that essay over the one Slughorn
had assigned her this weekend. This one didn't even have to be one full roll of
parchment. He had said it would be nice if it was, but it wasn't a requirement.
She was close to groaning out loud as if in physical pain when a pair of
footsteps approached her corner of the room, a voice following ahead, "Weasley,
do you know where Hermione is right now? Her and Potter's detention was suppose
to have started ten minutes ago."
"Haven't seen her all morning." Ron answered McGonagall first, which was an
accomplishment seeing as he was yawning yet again. It was a wonder he wasn't
snoring on his table. When she looked closer it even appeared as if he had
actually managed to write something while she had been staring at her own
paper.
Ginny saw McGonagall turn to her from the corner of her eyes and quickly
responded, "I haven't seen her either, but Lavender was complaining earlier
that Hermione's clock had gone off earlier this morning. She might have gotten
up to start on her studies and still be at the library." It was the only
logical location she could think of her friend to be at. Especially since it
was a weekend and that's where she usually was before this mess with the law
had started up. Before she was off with Blaise to who-knows-where every weekend
since.
McGonagall frowned slightly at this news but it was only there for a few
seconds so Ginny was even sure she had seen it before the professor was
speaking again, "If she does come back here please remind her of her detention
in my classroom." McGonagall walked away then, most likely going to the library
to find Hermione herself, though she didn't look to be in any hurry. Well, the
detentions were unfair, maybe she was finally realizing that and becoming more
lenient on the matter. Maybe she wasn't going to punish her students just to
make a point concerning Snape and his own methods of detention.
/ / /
Hermione was flipping through the book on his desk next to the now cold
cauldron, the seal still on top and she wasn't about to remove it. She still
needed to locate the potion first, find the ingredients and prepare them before
she did anything with the cauldron anyway. Which was likely to reek if she did
remove the lid. It hadn't escaped her that he had gloves on earlier when
working with it either. Which made her grab the book and move it to the edge of
the desk before opening it again, seeing the title in messy scrawl on the
leather when she did so, Lagata Macul. It looked and sounded latin in origin
when she said it in her head but she couldn't think of any words with that
exact lettering from the language. Perhaps they were some words she just hadn't
seen yet.
She didn't let her mind linger too long on that though, instead going to the
back of the book, looking through the index. Most of which she didn't
understand when she found the index as it was printed in a different language.
Luckily there were words scrawled all around the page in other various
languages, one of the most prominent being english. Whoever had translated it
had done each entry and there were symbols separating each language the entries
had been translated to for ease of finding what one was looking for. From the
looks of the script the same person that had translated the english had also
done two of the other languages that she didn't recognize.
Her gaze skipped quickly over the text until settling on an entry whose
translation replicated what she had asked for back in the living room. Zel'ye
iz Ottalkivaniye
So it did exist. With a smile she slid her finger along the page to the number
the potion resided on, flipping to it soon after. She let out a sigh of relief
when she recognized the text below the unfamiliar language the title was in as
latin. That was something she could read.
Zel'ye iz Ottalkivaniye,
What isn't well known about this potion is when it was first invented by a
witch it was not named. Which is why many people who locate it in the Russian
books believe it to have originated in that country when really there was no
name for it until around 889 leaving the actual origins of the potion unknow-
czk
She gasped out loud from the sudden ringing in her head. Even when she raised
her hands to cover her ears it persisted. Hissing loudly to snarl in the next
second, the sound deepening each time. Then the screeching began, filling her
ears, kti-zulik-caa-hireeeh.It all seem to mash together. Into something she
couldn't understand. Not that she could even begin to as it got louder.
Hermione leaned against the desk, fingers pressed firmly to the page, wondering
when her eyes had closed. She must have done it herself when it had started.
When her mind had started to- "Vra." The weird, inhuman sound sound escaped her
lips as nails on a wood board resounded in her head. That painful sound filled
her head af it was scratching at her skull, slicing straight through skin to
beat on the bone. To be let in.
The hissing, snarling, it all continued even as her head felt like it was ready
to split and she forced herself to open her eyes. To look down at the page and
skip further to the list below everything else. That was the first thing she
needed and fighting to keep her eyes open and focus on the words she translated
the latin on the page.
- one sliced aconite petal
- one unsucculated leech
- a frozen ashwinder egg
- three fruit of the lovage
- blood of the afflicted
Huh? She tore her gaze from the list, back up until she found the phrase again
in the script.
Not to get confused with the drinker (as is common and with disastrous
results), the afflicted - as was named back before this potion was ever written
- is the 'person of interest' and whose blood will be needed for the potion to
work. U nfortunately , the blood is not the last ingredient making it
impossible to prepare this beforehand as the potion will go sour within ten
minutes of its completion .
It should be stated now that one should not make this potion lightly as the
effects are near irreversible and to break it would be excruciating for the
drinker (ever seen a ferret or other strapped to a man's chest in a burning
metal box? it's like that, but instead of just the chest being ripped open upon
the creature's escape it's the whole body, mentally anyway).
With regards to the drinker, the zel'ye, has never been inspected by a Ministry
of Magic to this known date (1996) and therefore is neither legal or illegal.
As this is not the case with most entries within here it would be appreciated
if you kept it this way and tell no one of it if you choose to use this (in
regards to the drinker, the afflicted, and 'others of interest').
'Others of interest?' She tried to move her gaze up again, to what had to be
the history of the potion, but quickly bent her head down when the screeching
got too loud. It would seem it had stopped clawing and was instead hammering
away at her skull, chipping the bone with each blow and she let out a hiss when
her skin stung around her right ear. As if it was drilling into the side of her
head.
With a small cry she leant forward to press her head against the page, screwing
her eyes closed before forcing them back open to find a paragraph just barely
within her limited range of vision.
The effects of the Zel'ye iz Ottalkivaniye are as stated; the drinker shall not
be able to be in the same room as the afflicted without consequence, any bodily
contact will be recoiled from, any fluid contact will burn, any marrow contact
will freeze . As such the afflicted should be removed before the latter effects
sink in. Including; vicious phantasmagoria, residence languish, and nausea.
She was still staring at the words when cold wrapped around her wrists and she
felt herself lifted up, no longer doubled over, no longer touching the book. "-
ione?" Her eyelids flickered, still seeing the script from the book when she
blinked; running along the door, walls, stone and wood. Was it following her?
Her skin burned and when she blinked again she saw the ceiling of her room
above her. There was a clink to her left, as if something had been set down and
she turned her head to see a glass of water and a plate of food sitting next to
it. She pushed herself up so she was leaning against the headboard and reached
out to grip the cool glass, feeling it warm underneath her trembling fingers.
"Hermione." His cool fingers wrapped around hers, steadying the glass, helping
her move it to her lips so she could gulp it down. She flinched when the ice
cold water ran down her throat and moved her head away a couple seconds later
when he removed the glass from her lips.
She gasped, sucking in breaths of air. Her gaze moved over the room, searching
for any floating letters and finding none she let out a sigh of relief. The bed
shifted and her gaze darted to Barty, who was sitting on the edge watching her.
She took in a deep breath, still feeling the way her body had broken out into a
cold sweat when she was reading the Lagata Macul. The way it screeched and
clawed for entry into her mind. "That book is cursed," she stated, waiting for
him to deny it. For having that thing in here.
He didn't turn from her gaze though. "It's full of dark magic. You read about
that potion, didn't you?" The way he stated it so matter of factly... It was
obvious he knew it was cursed, and yet, he hadn't been there before she had
begun reading. Before she had found the potion. He had wanted her to read what
it did for herself then.
She could understand that notion. Hermione almost couldn't believe there was
something so... so... "Vile." She stared at him for a moment, at his unwavering
form. "That thing tried to get inside of me. Did you know that would happen?"
He didn't even blink at her question. "Yes."
She sucked in a breath, heart hammering away in her chest. "And you didn't
think to tell me any of that?" Her blood was staring to warm beneath her skin.
"It takes a long time for it to actually get inside the mind of anything
magical. You weren't in any immediate danger. Do you think I would let you have
run off like that if that were the case?"
She glanced away from him to the plate on her nightstand. "No." There was no
doubt in her mind that if he had wanted to stop her - or needed to - he would
have done so. But that still didn't calm her mind completely. She couldn't feel
it in her mind any longer trying to get in but she remembered it perfectly.
That feeling was one that was going to stay with her forever. "Is it gone
then?"
Hermione glanced back to Barty when he didn't answer her right away. He seemed
to be considering her words, what they meant, as if there was a question
beneath them. "Yes." A wave of relief crashed over her. She never wanted it
near her again, clawing the way it had. "It gave you a temporary fever cause of
how much contact you were in with it but nothing serious. You're fine now."
"Fine?" the word slipped from her mouth and mind at the same time. She could
hardly call how she felt as 'fine.' Her head may not hurt any more, she may not
hear it anymore, but she was far away from being fine of all things. Hermione
took in a deep breath, once. "You asked me before if I trusted you. If you keep
pulling things like this how do you expect me to do anything but distrust you?"
Barty's gaze finally turned from her - for a fraction of a second. He was
giving her that same curious look as he had before on the couch. Just studying
her. "What do you think would have happened if I didn't let you go and see it
for yourself?" She tried to open her mouth to answer but he intervened, "You
just said it yourself. You don't trust me. If I told you about it, what it
does, would you believe me?"
Her mind fought for words, mouth opening and closing as she came up with none.
After a moment of staring at him she shook her head. "That's not the point-"
Hermione began to speak when he reached forward to grasp her jaw between his
fingers. "It is. Now," His grip on her tightened. "Nod or shake your head when
I ask-stop glaring at me like that." She glanced to the wall instead and heard
him sigh. "If I tell you more about that manuscript are you going to continue
like this?"
More? She blinked. What else could he possibly have to tell her about it? And
why? When she tried to open her mouth though his fingers kept it closed with
the pressure they were applying. So this was why he was doing this now. So she
couldn't interrupt him. With a frown at not being able to question him on why
they needed to discuss it further she shook her head. No, she wouldn't
'continue like this.'
"Good." He said that, but his fingers only seemed to tighten further on her
jaw. Did he think she would go back on her word? "That cursed book is called
the Lagata Macul. It's very old, passed through many hands over the centuries.
It's contents have been added to but most of what it contains is from the
original author. That potion you looked up is one of their works, it tends to
have a sadistic look at the history and spells/potions. Anyway," Barty let out
a sigh. "Did you get to read the part about not telling anyone about the
potion?"
After a moment she nodded her head. It had stood out considering the book
stated that the potion's existence was unknown to this very day by the
Ministries of Magic all over the world. No wonder the author asked for it to be
kept hidden. She could hardly believe there was a potion out there the Ministry
didn't know about.
"Have you given any thought to telling anyone about it?" Hermione looked from
the wall to him and blinked. She hadn't even thought about it. "Not just the
potion, but the book as well. The book may be known in comparison with that
potion but not by name. Promise me you won't try and tell your friends, or the
Order about it. Hermione?" he asked when she didn't respond right away.
It seemed ridiculous to her. Why did she have to make such a promise when she
already told him she hadn't thought about doing it? That she never would
considering the way the idea of such a potion existing made her skin crawl. She
didn't even completely understand some of the effects it had. Like the marrow
freezing her if she came in contact with it. How did one come in contact with
marrow? It was inside the bones for Merlin's sake! The implications of that
thought settled in her mind and she quickly shook it away, not wanting to have
those disturbing thoughts linger.
She lifted her hand, curling her fingers around his and tugged softly. His
fingers fell away, slipping to her arm instead, moving along the skin. "Why?
What are you going to do to me if I do?" The last thing she wanted was to go
back to that room of his, tucked along the hallway.
"Do to you..." He met her gaze. "I won't do anything to you. Promise me,
Hermione."
She bit at the edge of her lip. The last promise she had made to him concerned
the Order as well, but instead of telling him about their secrets now he wanted
her to promise not to tell his to them? This was ludicrous. Soon enough she
wouldn't be able to be around her friends at all at this rate. "No."
The fingers gliding up her arm had stopped at the single word, his eyes trained
on her as if that would make the other word come from her mouth. "Hermione-"
"I said no. I won't keep betraying the Order like this." She pulled her arm
away from his hand, leaning up against the headboard as she curled both of her
arms around her to try and keep out of his reach.
He was silent for a time and she tried to figure out what he was thinking but
his face gave nothing away. There was no facial muscle twitch, his eyes were
like blank slates. A couple minutes must have passed before he said, "It's not
gone, exactly." The words came out slow, as if he had to force them. It took
her a moment to register what he had said. To connect it to what he had told
her earlier.
Her breath came to a halt. It wasn't gone? That damn cursed book was still
inside of her then? He had lied to her. "What the bloody hell do you mean? 'Not
gone, exactly.' It's either gone or it isn't, Bartemiu-" There was something in
his eyes that made her stop. She took a moment to breathe before continuing
more slowly, voice lowered, mindful of the look in his eyes. "You just said it
was gone. I asked you and that's what you told me. You keep saying how much
honesty matters to you and you just lied to me, Barty. So you try and explain
how any of that is suppose to make me trust you."
That look in his eyes was gone and his shoulders had relaxed by the end of her
words. It seemed there were three things she couldn't say around him, otherwise
he would get like that again... A shiver ran down her spine.
"I didn't lie to you. It's still in the room. What it tried to do before isn't
something it can do again unless you go and read it. The book can't go into
your mind like that or try to." It was quiet for a moment as he looked to be
thinking over his next words. "It left an impression on you-No." he sighed.
"It's hard to explain. It's like a... an aura. Anyone who looks inside the book
and reads one word no matter how insignificant it is it will leave this aura on
you. Like you said before, it's cursed. The 'aura' is a part of that. It's not
really dangerous, doesn't change anything about you but it does enforce what
the book asks you not to do."
She took a minute to process what he was saying. "Okay, then." Hermione took in
a breath. That was... good to know she supposed. If only she had known before
going to the book though, and then she wouldn't have to be sitting here asking
him this, "How does it enforce it?"
"The book told you not to talk about the potion inside of it, and unless you're
talking to someone else that has read it, like me. It won't care because it
will sense I have that aura as well. So the only people you can talk to about
it would be others that have had the book before. In time you will able to
sense it in others." His eyes finally fell away from her, his tone going
bitter. "If you were to talk about it to anyone else though... you wouldn't be
able to. It mentions it in the back of the Lagata Macul as a warning, of course
the moment you read something from there even it will enforce the tenet. If you
try to speak to the Order about that specific potion lacerations will appear in
the mouth. The more you try to tell them the more cuts you'll receive. The idea
is that eventually you will choke on your own blood. That's how the book keeps
it's secrets safe. One of the ways I should say." His gaze met hers again. "Do
you understand now? You can't tell them Hermione."
Her body had gone still. Even so she managed to nod her head in the
affirmative. "I promise I won't." She was silent for a moment, aware of the
sigh he released when she told him she understood. "How did you... acquire
something like that?"
"I didn't. Not in the sense of what you're asking. The book found me." He ran a
hand through his hair. "Back in Hogwarts I regularly broke into the Restricted
Section of the Library and first came across it that way. The book was sitting
on the shelf but it wasn't in the catalog so I took it. It didn't claw into my
mind, but I had already been casting dark magic before I found it. When I
showed it to a friend it tried what it did to you. That was in sixth year and I
threw it away then. This is the second time I've seen the book itself. There's
copies of some of the spells and potions written down, just scattered around
the world from previous owners that I recognized from the book."
"How does it find someone? How did you come across it again?" She felt she
needed to know. This book was obviously dangerous, especially if it went about
'finding' witches and wizards.
He was silent for a moment. "Much like it found me again I suspect." Barty
chuckled. "It was right outside the door of this house. A wolf was sitting on
the mat with the book between it's teeth." He laughed softly and from the look
in his eyes he was picturing the scene again in his mind. "When I opened the
door it was wagging it's tail at me. When I took the book though it ran away
like all the hounds of hell were after it."
"It... controlled the wolf?" The mere idea reminded her of Riddle's Diary. It
had been cursed as well, and it had taken control of Ginny.
"Yeah. It's not a magical creature and has no way to defend itself against the
books' magic. It may have gotten into the library by owl before. That's one of
the ways it gets around and finds people. The book likes to be used, it wants
to be read and the magic inside of it to be cast. It has a mind of it's own."
"Why did it find you?"
He blinked at her before shrugging. "It wants me to use it I guess. The Death
Eaters asked for a potion just last week that was contained in it's pages. One
of them probably heard about it from a herbologist. Then this week the
manuscript is on the doorstep. If I were to guess it sensed that the potion I
needed was in it's pages through the aura and came because I don't have a note
with a copy of the potion."
"What about the previous owner?" Was a dark wizard or witch going to appear at
the door next demanding to have the book back?
Barty didn't look concerned about that question in the least. Instead he just
laughed. "Probably wondering where the hell it went. The Lagata Macul isn't
exactly a book you can own. Whoever the previous owner was has just learned
that lesson."
She stared at him for a moment. His posture was relaxed, a warm glint in his
eyes, and he kept answering her questions for once. He hadn't deflected a
single one. She couldn't think of a way she could come across a more perfect
moment to get some of her more serious questions answered.
Hermione lowered her arms, crawling across the bedspread to his side, resting
her cheek against his shoulder, reaching out to press her fingers on top of his
own hand. He was always touching her himself. She hoped this would calm him
even more, keep him how he was now as she began to speak, "There's something
else that's been bothering me since this morning."
"Hmm?"
The questioning sound might as well have been a hum, a linger of his laugh from
before still evident in it. His hand turned over beneath hers, wrapping fingers
around her own and she gave his fingers a light squeeze. "When I asked you
before about last Monday you weren't thinking about what I was were you?" If
anything he had been surprised by her question then. Like... "You were
expecting something else weren't you?"
Even now his fingers stilled beneath her for a moment and she hurriedly clasped
her other hand around it. His gaze dropped to the two hands around his, looking
almost... puzzled. "I was."
"What were you expecting?" she asked.
"A lot more anger from you, for one."
Hermione blinked. "Why?" Her hands went still around his.
"Why?" He seemed to consider the question as his thumb ran along the palm of
her right hand. "You haven't given it any thought then. What I did?"
She remained silent, letting that be her answer. Last Monday was something she
kept mostly out of her mind, the detention, her fight with him, what she did
before falling asleep in his room... that was something she worked hard to keep
out of her mind. The fact that it was only Saturday and they hadn't... done
anything yet was another she kept pressed in the corners of her mind. All the
things she didn't want to think about were shoved in the back there. Everything
concerning the Ministry and their laws as well.
Barty sighed and she could feel him pulling his hand away from her own. She
reached out for him again but her hand fell short on his knee, not daring to go
any further. Her cheeks warmed and she looked away quickly, removing her hands
completely so they pressed into the blanket beside her instead, the skin
prickling at the memory from last weekend.
"I'm sorry." Her head shot up from his shoulder to stare at him, not quite
believing the two small words that had just come out of his mouth. "I shouldn't
have... I should have stopped when you asked me to. When you... you said no.
You just-"
He stopped so abruptly in his explanation that it startled her, even though she
was unsure of what he was talking about. "Just what?" she asked, while looking
back to Monday to try and find what he was speaking of. She could think of a
millions things he shouldn't have done then but he was trying to be specific
about it. Some single moment. "Barty?" she pressed.
His gaze met hers for a moment before moving swiftly away. "You were
whimpering, making little noises. Lovely little noises..." There was a soft
sigh and she felt a cold chill run down her back. "Not looking at me, nothing
at all really. I could tell you weren't actually focusing on the wall like you
pretended. Then you closed your eyes..." She looked away, ears burning. He
could not be talking about that time right now. "There were little streams
running down your body, sweat. Like rain drops glistening on your skin. Back
arched, head tilted back, neck exposed, nipples hard, just making those little
noises." Her whole face went red. "Your body wanted it. So I..."
The weight on the bed next to her suddenly vanished. "Fuck." The word stung her
ears. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I shouldn't have forced that on you. Not like that.
Fuck." The sound of the door slamming behind him floated back to her as she
stared forward at her own shell-shocked expression in the vanity mirror.
***** Chapter 24 *****
Chapter Notes
     Yes, it's been awhile. This chapter didn't want to start.
     Here's some news you probably didn't know about though. There's a
     fanart for Barty and Hermione on my profile (ff one, or use the link
     in my profile here to go directly to my deviantart), granted it has
     nothing to do with any story to date, but it's still pretty to look
     at. I also have this same pair featured in a crossover with final
     fantasy x for anyone that's interested. Fayth, pyreflies, al bhed
     talk, fucked up cloister of trials, general fun. Have a look.
Her body felt like it was made of stone. Had he really just...
She could feel the tips of her ears go red, reflecting the skin tone her face
had taken. He had. The way he had spoken about it, the details, her. It had
been obvious in his tone that he had enjoyed it, but then, there was that look
on his face. One of guilt, even shame.
But that couldn't be right, could it? After all, he must have enjoyed each
time, this was just the first time she had that fact thrown at her. That he was
possibly just using her, the law of the Ministry as an excuse to do whatever he
wanted to her. It didn't matter that she had thought about it before, it was
this.
This certainty she hadn't had before. One she kept fighting down. The way he
touched her all the time had to be because he enjoyed those moments on the
weekends when they were close, physically speaking that is. Because he enjoyed
her body, not her. Why when she was here his hands always seemed to be on her,
constantly touching her when he could. He just wanted to use her more often
than the law required. That was all.
Her throat seemed to close on her, she could feel a warmth start in her eyes
and quickly blinked, curling her hands into fists to stop her body from
instinctively shedding the tears.
No. She shook her head firmly. It still didn't make sense; why he had looked
like that, was out of the room the moment after telling her. Hermione choked
back a sob, keeping it in a cage in her lungs. She wasn't going to let it out
until she knew for certain.
Her legs slid from the bed, stumbling forward the moment her feet touched the
ground. She reached out quickly, using the vanity to steady herself before
making her way into the hall.
She stopped just outside, her feet now firm beneath her. There was no need to
look left, she already knew he had to have gone back to his room and walked
slowly down the hall, her mind still spinning. Hopefully when she asked he
answered her question. She wasn't sure what would happen if he refused in his
normal manner. By acting like she hadn't said a thing, that he hadn't heard
her.
Hermione didn't bother knocking, she reached for the knob and turned it,
pushing the door open so it swayed gently into the room. He was there, directly
in her line of vision.
Just sitting on the edge of the bed, hands curled in the blanket beneath, the
veins on his arms stuck out. He was tense. She wasn't sure if he had been like
that before or if his posture had changed when he saw her standing there in his
doorway. But his gaze had flickered to her, then it was focused on the line of
skulls along the dresser and his jaw seemed to clench.
She took a step inside, watching him as she walked over but he didn't move
again. Just continued staring forward even when she sat on the edge of the bed
next to him. "Barty?" she murmured, glancing at him.
He moved then. Fast, a blur in front of her that was soon above her as she
found her back pressed to the bed. His legs on either side of her, a hand
pressed against her abdomen, fingers locked around her throat. "You
manipulative bitch."
Her eyes widened, mouth opening, trying to get at the air but she couldn't get
a single gulp in. She could feel her heart begin pounding in her chest at
seeing the look in his eyes. It was like that one day. The one when... She
remembered his teeth ripping into her skin and began shaking her head quickly.
Not again. This could not be happening again.
The hand on her stomach was soon gone, gripping her jaw. "You think you can
just bend me to your will, don't you? Tell me, do you like playing with me,
little witch? Like a little puppy." Somehow his grip on her neck tightened and
she let loose a strangled sound in her desperation for air, to drag oxygen into
her lungs and tell him no. To beg if she had to. "You think you can throw a
bone my way every once and awhile so I can be under your thumb all the time.
Just jump up into your lap and do whatever you please. Well, little witch, I
refuse to play that game with you."
He shifted above her, hand dropping her jaw and she began shaking her head
again. It was her only way to answer him and these accusations. No. His fingers
had grabbed her left wrist, raising it above her head that she shook fiercely
to try and get his attention. No, no, no! He left her hand above her, lying on
the bed.
"You like games?" No. "Stop that!" His hand was on her jaw again, keeping her
head from moving. "Hold up one finger for yes, two for no, and answer the
question, bint." She raised two slowly, unable to look away from him as his
eyes flickered up to check her response before settling back on her. "That's
too bad."
His hand let go of her again, slowly this time, his eyes watching her as he
drew it away. She had to force herself from moving as she stared up at him,
trying to keep his hand in her vision but she couldn't follow it when it went
behind his back. Her heart beat increased when she could see his fingers again,
curled around his wand.
She forced a noise past her throat, a gurgle of sorts as the wand tip rested on
her cheek. "Do you not want to play?" She kept her two fingers up, chest rising
and falling faster with each second. "Hmm." She could feel the tip run across
her cheek, past her ear into her hair, to make a soft thud when it hit the bed,
tumbling down past his fingers.
Relief washed through her and then her head was thrown to the right; her jaw,
left cheek, just the edge of her nose feeling like it was on fire. The skin was
throbbing, a dull pain starting to spread where he had struck her with his
fist.
"That's not very considerate of you," he was hissing the words into her ear and
she felt a shiver run through her body. Get away, have to get away. His gaze
flickered to her and she felt her head reeling again, mouth open and gaping.
"Do you think I can't tell what you're thinking? You don't have a very good
poker face right now-"
There was a rushing sound in her ears, like a waterfall, like when the tv
turned to static at night in her parent's house. Her fingers at her side
twitched when even that was becoming dull. She needed her wand. It was just in
her room but her vision was swimming black. Her whole mind was a dark ocean,
not a letter forming in the waves.
It all came rushing back at her in a matter of seconds. The fingers no longer
on her neck, instead sliding up her cheek, past her right eye to curl into her
hair and tug. She wanted to cry out, but instead she found herself sucking down
air like an animal. "Don't ignore me," his words came out in a growl and a
whimper slipped past her lips. "Little witc-"
"Hermione," she corrected now that she could speak, had air in her lungs again.
"And I'm not. I'm not-" Her mouth stayed open, no longer making any sound when
he hit her in the diaphragm, her body curling in on itself as much as it could
with him above her.
"Is that what you would have me believe?" he asked while she gulped at the air
much like a fish. "That you're not going to whisper your thoughts to me next?
Do I look like a bloody idiot? You'll have to try harder than that. Or maybe I
should just beat you to the punch line?" Her whole body jerked when she felt
his hand slip up under her shirt, fingers gliding over the underside of her
cotton covered breast. "Make you put on a show for me, puppet."
Her heart thundered louder in her chest than when his fingers had been clasped
along her throat. Puppet. No, he couldn't mean it. He had told her he wouldn't.
That he would neveruse that spell on her. She pulled her trapped hand from
between her body and his leg to cling to his robe. "Barty, please. You promised
me you wouldn't. You can't," she choked on a sob, feeling tears sting along her
cheeks. "You said you would never use the imperius on me. You said you weren't
your father." His body moved upward, her arm stretched from the distance
between them. "Barty-"
"Hermione." Her arm went slack, his fingers curling around hers, removing them
from his robe. "I'm sorry." She blinked up at him, trying to get the tears out
of her vision that made it look like she was peering through water and fog at
the same time. "So sorry." Something soft was being pressed to her fingers. She
blinked again to see he had raised her hand to his lips, that he was pressing
kisses along each finger, each knuckle, until he had covered every inch of skin
on her hand.
He raised her hand further up, so her open palm was resting against his cheek.
His eyes closed just a second after, his hand keeping hers in place. She stared
up at him, heart beating fast in her ears. This had to be a trick. A cruel
trick. He was about to hit her again, likely with her own hand. As part of the
game he had never specified on. "Barty?" she couldn't help the way her voice
came out in more of a whisper. Her jaw hurt. She was sure there were bruises
developing all over her face and around her neck. She just couldn't raise her
voice the way she wanted to. To shout at him and tear her hand from his grip
and run out of the room.
His eyes slid open, glimmering in the candle light. "I hurt you," his voice was
strained as he gazed down at her. Barty's hand lifted from hers and she felt it
fall to her chest as she watched a corner of liquid at his eye trail downward,
past his jaw to fall through the air and hit the fabric of her shirt, creating
a dark splotch. Her eyes widened as he leaned down, more tears running down his
face as she felt his lips on her throat. "I'm sorry," was whispered against the
nape of her neck again and again as she felt the pain dull, till it never
existed. His hands were cupping her face, kissing a path along her cheekbone.
"I won't let it happen again. I swear."
Her lips parted slowly, tasting salt from her tears, but mostly from his. "It
won't?" her voice was wavering. She had to be dreaming or... something. The
thought kept slipping through her mind with each kiss he placed on her cheek.
With each teardrop hitting her forehead. This couldn't be real. He...
"Never." He laid a kiss just beneath her eye that slid closed a moment later.
"Forgive me. Please." She felt her breath vanish from her lungs. The
desperation laced into that one word... one she had never heard him say before,
except when mocking her. Her hands moved slowly, crawling up his sides to wrap
around him. They stayed even when he turned on his side, to continue sobbing
into her hair throughout the night.
/ / /
The sun was slowly dipping beneath the waves, turning the water into halo-
tipped flames that made the sky glow in their vicious battle to stay raging on
the ocean. To continue to light the sky with bright orange flares until the
clouds became pink and the flames turned to blood as the sun died beneath them.
"It was beautiful." Daphne's breath tickled his ear when she leaned over from
her own beach chair. If he didn't know better he would have thought she had
gotten up from the chair to lay on his own, if his had been larger that is.
Really she had just dragged her own so close that the arm rests were side-by-
side. So her head was resting on his shoulder as the darkened above them, the
temperature starting it's slow drop. It was a good idea to come here before the
winter season set it. "Blaise?"
"Huh?" He had to shake himself from his thoughts before taking a moment to
remember what she had said. "Oh, yes, beautiful sunset." He turned his head to
glance over at her. Dark brown hair starting to turn black in the night, black
bikini top covering her breasts, a white flower between them. The black bottoms
had a white floral print running along the left side of the front, it was kept
on by a pair of black strings on each side, tied tight into little bows. One
tug would-
"What are you thinking about?"
Her question made his gaze snap back up, brown eyes meeting her green. "You."
Her head was thrown back as she laughed, stopping around ten seconds later to
look back at him with her lips quirked up. She may have stopped laughing out
loud, but she was surely still laughing internally. "Me? My tits you mean."
"Have you ever thought of thinking before you speak?" he asked, shifting on his
side. "What makes you think I'm thinking about your tits? I could be thinking
about anything as long as it comes back to you. Like, say, your tiny waist,
flat stomach, adorable little bellybutton." As the last word slipped out of his
mouth his hands reached forward quickly to dance across her tummy that was soon
shaking as she was laughing again.
"Stop!" her scream came out in more of a squeak as she tried to bat his hands
away with her own, but he kept evading them with a wide grin on his face. "No
more! I'll get a stomach cramp!" He just moved his fingers up past her bikini
to her armpit. "Cheater!"
She continued laughing as he tickled her, kicking off from the chair in her
attempt to get away and he soon followed her onto the sand. Grains of sand flew
into the air as Daphne rolled around, calling for help in, 'getting this
pervert to stop molesting my no tickling rights.' It just made him start
laughing until his own stomach hurt and he rolled away, digging his hands into
the sand as he looked to Daphne and tried to stop from laughing again.
She was sitting up now, face red from laughing and yelling in equal measure.
Her hands were running through her brown locks, her lips developing into a
scowl that was soon directed at him. "You got sand in my hair." He just smiled
as she got up and walked back to their chairs, picking up a tan beach towel
that she was quick to throw around her shoulders. "I'm going back up to the
room. Stay here and play in your sand." she said with a huff and started
walking up the beach.
He slid his hands from the sand, noting how cold his skin was now. Blaise got
up, throwing his own towel over a shoulder before folding up the chairs and
moving them up the beach to the stand where he had gotten them and slid them on
top of a pile before heading up some stairs to the hotel on the edge of the
beach. He walked to the room the two of them shared, slipping a rusty key into
the lock and turning it to open the door.
The sound of running water filled his ears as he stepped into the room and
closed the door behind him. There were a few choice curses coming from the
bathroom as Daphne fought with the grains of sand present in her hair and he
chuckled. "Heard that!"
He smiled as he deposited his towel on his bed, taking off his white swim
trunks with a red-brown logo of the company it came from, which consisted of a
viper. Blaise pulled open a drawer that he had stuck some clothes into and
threw on the first ones he saw. He grabbed for the towel afterwards, running it
quickly through his hair to get rid of most of the sand before rolling it into
a ball and throwing it into the laundry basket across the room.
There were a few grains still in his hair though and he shook his head to get
the rest out, combing his hair with his fingers for a moment before he heard a
heavy knock on the door. He glanced to the bathroom. "Did you call room
service?"
"Why would I do that? We're going out or had you forgotten?" Daphne called back
from the shower.
There was a series of sharp knocks on the wood. "I'll get it," he said, walking
across the hotel room to throw open the door, mainly to stop the knocks that
had gotten even more urgent and loud as he made his way over. "We didn't ask
for-Professor?"
"Where is she?" Snape ignored the look of surprise on his face, pushing past
Blaise into the room and looking around quickly at the two beds, couch, tv, and
balcony. Having not found what he was looking for he turned back to Blaise.
"Your match, Blaise. The one that was suppose to be in detention with
McGonagall and didn't show up. That no one has seen in the castle since very
early in the morning. I thought I told you to just stay at the castle this
weekend because of the circumstances. Even if going to the same school already
fills the requirements for the time you're to be around each other. What makes
you think I wouldn't find this place?" He wanted to say he hadn't attempted to
hide where he was going in the first place but Snape was talking too fast for
him to get a word in. "I don't expect this type of behavior from my own
students. Get your stuff, find your-" The Professor stopped, turning to the
opening door of the bathroom. "Miss Greengrass?"
Daphne stood in the doorway, royal purple towel wrapped around her body,
another wrapped around the hair piled on top of her head, a few strands falling
loose around her face and dripping water onto the tile beneath her feet. "Yes,
that would be me. I'm Blaise's match, Professor. I also don't recall having
detention with anyone so I really don't understand why you're here bothering us
with a detention that isn't even under you own supervision."
Snape must have recovered from the shock of seeing Daphne there as he was now
frowning. "When Potter showed up for his detention for today McGonagall let him
off the hook, but Hermione didn't." His gaze moved back to Blaise, who was now
sure that Snape was in a bad mood because McGonagall had taken her own students
off detention in retaliation for his and Draco's own detention that hadn't
lasted for more than an hour. "I don't know what game the two of you are
playing at, but I want to know where your actual match is, Zabini, now."
"Excuse me," Daphne was soon standing at his side, matching the Professor's
frown. He wasn't sure right now was the time to be mocking an authority figure
though. "I believe I just told you that I am Blaise's match. Hermione agreed to
pretend to be his match back at the castle when Blaise got his letter and I
didn't want it announced right away. When I decide I'm ready we will stop that
charade, but for now, it stays."
Snape's eyes narrowed, flickering between the two of them, stopping on Blaise.
"Is that true? The know-it-all is just a convenient cover instead of your
match?'
"Yes," he confirmed.
The Professor's frown deepened. "If that is the case then where is, Miss
Granger? Hmm?"
Snape was glaring at him with a sort of ferocity that was just asking for him
to lie so he could thrown him into detention with Filch. Daphne's fingers
wrapped around Blaise's right hand and he glanced to her for a moment wondering
what she was doing just before she started speaking, "We don't know, Professor.
I would assume she's with her actual match as well right now, likely out and
about. It's not like he goes to the school with us considering her match is
older, sir. The deal we made was that she covered for me with Blaise and he
covered for her own match. I thought it was a pretty fair deal considering
things these days. She's one of the few Gryffindors I believe can keep such a
secret. Part of our arrangement is not asking questions. She only recently
found out I was Blaise's match by chance and we don't know who her own match
is. So I would think asking us such a question would be fruitless."
Professor Snape was quiet for a moment, somehow looking more furious than
before. "She didn't change her match at the Ministry, did she?"
"No," Blaise answered, as the question was clearly directed at him. "She said
no one could change their match, which is exactly what the Daily Prophet said.
Besides, the law doesn't allow it."
Snape scowled, glancing around the room once more before turning away with a
quick, "Return to school on time Monday or suffer the consequences." The door
shut with a bang behind him.
/ / /
Her finger trailed over his jaw as she laid there on the bed, staring up at the
ceiling after waking up only a few minutes before. His breathing next to her
ear was still uneven, rapid, and she wasn't sure if he was awake or not as it
had been the same when her eyes had closed last night. At some point he had
shifted again, his left arm was wrapped tight around her waist but considering
she could breathe just fine she didn't make any attempt to move. The blanket
just to the side of her head was still damp and she could only guess he had
started crying again in his sleep, if he had gone to sleep in the first place.
His breathing faltered, left hand tightening around the fingers of her own hand
that was still raised above her head. "Barty?" she murmured, checking if he was
awake or not. His head dipped down, lips skimming her shoulder before she could
feel him laying kisses on the skin. So he was awake. She ran her fingers over
the edge of his jaw, going down until she reached the duvet and couldn't go any
further, trailing her hand back up right below his ear before starting the
cycle again. Occasionally he leaned into the touch as he continued to kiss her
shoulder, otherwise he hardly moved.
It would seem his attitude hadn't changed from last night like she kept
thinking it would. That he would act like none of it had happened. That's what
he had basically done the first time. He had also sent her away the first time.
Right now he seemed unlikely to let her go in any sense of the word. What would
he do after the third time though?
Hermione couldn't stop the shiver that ran through her body. She didn't want to
think about a third time. Even though he had said it wouldn't happen again she
had to wonder what 'it' was. He had never specified or explained what he had
said. 'It' could be anything. All she knew was that it was important that 'it'
didn't happen again. If only she knew how to stop it. She wasn't sure if she
could endure another round in the coming weeks, months, - bloody hell - years
even. Eventually 'it' would kill her.
He had stopped this time though. There was no telling if he would the next
time. She wasn't even sure why he had stopped, mainly just grateful. If praying
to every god and goddess on earth would stop 'it' she would do it for the rest
of her life.
It would be better if she didn't have to. What had it been? What made him stop
from beating her to a bloody pulp? From unleashing the imperius curse on her?
It had been when she was begging, she knew that much. Begging for him to not
use that curse on her, that he had promised he wouldn't use it on her. Had that
been it? What else had she said?
Her fingers stopped their trail on his jaw as she thought and she felt him turn
slightly, back and forth, as if he were creating the motions himself. It could
have been anything she had said at the time... "Barty," she spoke louder this
time. "What did your father do to you?"
His teeth dug into her shoulder and she had to resist the urge to flinch. He
hadn't broken the surface, it had just been so sudden, feeling his lips part to
have his mouth clamp down in the same second. Another second passed before he
released the skin between his teeth, licking at the mark on her shoulder.
Hermione ran her fingers over his jaw again, trying to coax the answer out of
him. She had her own suspicions but she wanted to hear it from him. His tongue
dragged against her skin before his chin was resting on her shoulder, warm
breath pressing against her neck. "He broke me out of Azkaban."
He fell silent again and she could feel his nose pressing against her neck,
nudging closer until his face might as well have been buried in the crook of
her neck. "Him and mother." she barely heard his whisper. Barty shifted again,
body still molded against her right side. "My mother pretend to be me with the
polyjuice potion. He switched the two of us. Put her in the cell and got me
out. It was her dying wish apparently. That he broke me out, he wouldn't have
done it for any other reason. He left her there to die the same day, for her to
be buried with all those murderers and thieves, scum." His snarl sent a mini-
quake through her collarbone.
"He used an invisibility cloak to cover me and get to the house. Crouch Manor.
Once there he told Winky to never mention me to anyone, that she was my
caretaker from now on and to not let me out of her sight. When I tried to get
away the first night to search for My Lord he put me under the imperius curse
and kept it constant for years. I did break through at times, but he would
enforce it each time, kept me hidden beneath the invisibility cloak whenever
there was anyone over, sometimes even when it was just me, him, and Winky. He
hardly looked at me. If Winky hadn't been feeding me and taking care of
everything as usual he likely would have forgotten I was even there for a few
hours. He probably forgot anyway.
"It was a habit of his. Forgetting anything that didn't have to do with his job
at the Ministry every day. On rare occasions he even seemed to forget about
mother and she would take me out into the woods around the manor at night, past
what he thought to be a decent bedtime when he didn't come home from work." The
anger in his tone disappeared completely at this point. "She would show me the
flowers and plants in the far greenhouse tucked in the corner of our property,
in a grove of trees. Made me promise not to breathe a word to father, that it
was our little secret. He never found out. She would show me exotic flowers,
tell me their names, properties, how to pick them. She told me my grandfather
had showed her the greenhouse when she married father, explained the family
business to her. And she explained it to me. She showed me the greenhouse in
the dungeons after getting into an argument with father. It was underwater,
beautiful, each plant was someone's poison. Something they would pay an
extravagant amount of money for. That was the family business. Obtain seeds and
grow plants that would otherwise be hard to get, dangerous. Sell them for a
pretty penny to the highest buyer.
"She ran the business, and my father was none the wiser that the guests she met
with were potential buyers, the exact sort of people he threw into Azkaban. He
would have shut it down if he had known, would have gotten rid of his own
family tradition. As if the Malfoy's have ever stopped buying their position in
the Ministry. The Carrow's are still mixed up in torture, getting people to
talk." His arm shifted up her body, resting against her midriff. "Those skulls
use to be part of it. Some of them are extinct now, not from my family, from
idiots. Others are protected by the Ministry to some extent, and more are just
dangerous to hunt.
"Mother killed a mooncalf once. It got into the greenhouse in the woods and ate
something from the pots. It was rotting from the inside out and she had to slit
it's throat. Father heard it's wailing from the house and only stayed home when
mother said he had too much work to do, that she would go see what it was
herself. Of course, father always had too much work to do, so it wasn't
surprising that he let mother go out herself. I insisted on going with her.
"I think Winky knew about it. The greenhouse, but mother must have told her
what she told me. Winky would ask my father to reward me for my 'good' behavior
when he had me under the imperius curse. 'Good' behavior was just when I wasn't
fighting him and the curse, when I wasn't breaking free and trying to get away,
when he had worn me down for the time being. Winky was the one to convince him
to bring me to the Quidditch Cup. I used to watch the games at Hogwarts like it
was a religious event. He agreed to it, I broke free, sent the Dark Mark into
the air, and framed Winky. Father fired her, you know. That house-elf deserved
it. After all the years she helped keep me prisoner. Doing whatever father told
her. 'Feed him. Wash the linens. Take care of that thing.' My father only used
a memory charm on Bertha Jorkins so it didn't get out that his son was still
alive, to save his own position in the Ministry.
"I would rather have spent those years in Azkaban. Instead of watching him just
a year after publicly disowning me try to get in good graces back at the
Ministry while hiding a murderer." He grew silent, staring at something she
couldn't see. "It's a shame he didn't scream when I killed him. Just stood
there all wide-eyed, muttering about needing to tell Dumbledore about me, stop
my plans... I could've done better. I could have killed a participant off in
those games one-by-one. Those remaining are going to fight against us in the
war." Her heart thundered in her chest when he said that. If he had... Fleur
and Krum would be dead as well. Not just Cedric. "I should have killed Krum
first. So he would never have the chance to touch what's mine."
His lips were on her neck again, nibbling at the skin, licking, catching it
between his teeth before he started sucking, leaving a mark. Her blood had run
cold. "Why didn't you?" she forced the words out.
He snarled, "Father. He wouldn't have liked it. He would have been
disappointed. That's all I was to him after that day in front of the
Wizengamot, a disappointment. Before that it was nothing, he hardly
acknowledged me. Forgot the fact that I got twelve bloody NEWTS. Forget that I
was top of the year. That I studied constantly to get there. That I only ever
saw my friend at Quidditch matches to stay there. Mother was beyond ecstatic
but he didn't care. He only cared about work. Mother would get me everything I
ever wanted and he only ever gave a distracted, 'good work' while sipping his
morning coffee."
Her knuckles and fingers had to be purple from the way he was gripping her
hand, squeezing the bones together the way he was. "Barty, my hand." His
fingers might as well have been stuck by lightning with how fast they were off,
barely touching the skin a second later and she could feel the throbbing in her
hand dull. The pain had reminded her too much of last night though. "What is
'it?'"
"'It?'" At first he seemed confused then he muttered an, "Oh. 'It' is... what I
don't remember."
Her gaze flickered to the side, but she couldn't really see him, just his
shoulder, everything but his face that remained too close for her to get a
glimpse at unless she turned her head. "What do you mean?"
He pushed away from her and she sat up, looking at him, needing to know. So
'it' hopefully wouldn't happen again. Barty glanced at her, then he was leaning
down, head resting in her lap as he laid back on the bed, horizontal to her own
body. His eyes closed and she wondered for a moment if he had gone back to
sleep. "That Sunday, when you came to my room, asking about what I did, what
spell I used. You were yelling that I had molested you, that I was playing
games, that you almost kissed me. You accused me of making you betray your
friends... I suppose in a way I did, but I didn't use magic. There was no need
when you told me everything I asked about. I... kissed you and you accused me
of using the imperius on you and then... you were bleeding. A wound on your
neck like a rabid animal had gotten into the house and attempted to rip it out.
Your clothes in shreds on the floor, rivers of blood on your arms, legs, inner
thigh. There was even blood on your ear, running down the side of your head,
and you were calling my name, my mouth was on your neck..." He raised his hand
fingers tracing the spot she remembered his teeth sinking into.
"You don't remember doing it?" He shook his head.
His eyes opened slowly, hand cupping the side of her face. "I thought I had
been stunned until I tasted the blood in my mouth. I tried to tell you I was
sorry, but... I didn't do anything else, did I?"
Hermione blinked, unable to tear her gaze away from him. "No." She raised her
hand, keeping his palm pressed against her cheek as she took in a shuddering
breath, aware that she was lying. That she promised she wouldn't, but surely
this wouldn't count? It was better if he didn't know what he had done,
suggested to her, threatened. "No, you didn't do anything else."
He smiled at her, thumb brushing under her eye, catching the tear that fell.
"My sweet angel."
The tears quickly ran down her face as she couldn't hold them back. Her hoarse
cry filled the room as she doubled over, hands dropping to cradle his head as
she kissed him feverishly.
As his hands moved to her shoulders, running down her arms, to her waist,
pulling the dark cloth of her shirt up and over her head when she raised her
arms before lowering them once again, dropping to the bed and pushing him down
onto the comforter. Her own hands pulling and tugging at his robe until it was
open and lying on the bed beneath him. She was tearing away his shirt, trying
to reach him beneath it, pulling until that was open as well and her mouth
landed on his chest, kissing frantically at the skin, following the ghost of a
scar on his stomach.
She heard the pop from her bra when he undid the clasp too swiftly, felt the
cotton strings slide down her arms to lay forgotten on the bed a second later.
Hermione gasped when his mouth encircled her nipple when she moved up initially
to capture his lips. Her head was tilted back, a hand entangled in his hair as
he laved at her chest until her nipple was hard, and then he was moving onto
the next one, leaving her skin burning.
Her hands lowered, tugging the zipper down, grabbing onto the waistband and
pulling until the trousers and boxers were down to his knees and he was kicking
them off. She was running her fingers up his arms, clasping at his shoulders as
he tugged at her nipple before releasing the small bud from his mouth and
trailing a path of kisses from her chest to her neck. His hands slipping
beneath her waistband and pulling her remaining clothing off in one swift
movement, only her knickers left dangling on her right ankle.
With one kick the cotton was off her foot and on the floor, and she was
pressing herself down on top of him, lips locking onto his, murmuring
breathless when she came up for air, "Need you."
There was a soft hum against her throat then she was flipped on her back and he
was on top of her, thrusting into her as she clawed at his back, trying to
bring him closer. Her legs raising to wrap around his waist and minimize the
distance between them.
Her hips raised to meet him and she gasped, head falling back on the bed, a
whimper escaping her when he kissed the hollow of her throat. "Barty."
His lips were back on hers, teeth tugging her bottom lip, growling, "Angel." As
he dove into her and she clamped down on him a second later, moaning as he
filled her. She was kissing at his neck as her body hummed, waves of pleasure
crashing over her as he thrust slowly into her, breath hot on her ear.
When he slowed to a stop she pushed up, rolling him onto his back, crawling
over to him to rest her head on his chest and let the beat of his heart lull
her into sleep.
***** Chapter 25 *****
Chapter Notes
     ...
See the end of the chapter for more notes
She gazed at him from across the room, her mouth dry, stomach churning when she
remembered the feel of his skin on hers. The taste of it against her lips.
It lingered on them even now. Forever imprinted into her memory. The warmth of
his body radiating next to hers. That scar on his stomach. It had cut across
from the top of his left thigh to just above his waist, a pale line that curved
in such a way that it must have come from a spell.
She hadn't thought about it at the time, but now, sitting here, she wondered.
What had caused it? Who had caused it for that matter? Had it been someone from
the Order? A muggleborn trying to defend themselves from a killing curse? It
wasn't recent, she could tell that much. He must have gotten in during the
first war. Still, it bothered her.
It kept nagging at the back of her mind whenever her thoughts wandered to that
moment when... when they were together.
Hermione didn't want to focus on it. It was just a scar. He had another one as
well, but different from what she had seen of it. When he woke up and had
caught her looking he had covered it quickly with his shirt, never turning away
so she couldn't see the back of it as well. That's what she guessed anyway from
the look of the puncture wounds that must have run deep at one point but were
now no more than white specks, evenly spaced, about a centimeter in diameter,
wrapped in a curve that cut off at the top and side of his left shoulder. There
was likely an identical pattern on the other side, from the bottom jaw of
whatever creature had caught him in it's grip.
That had to be why her thoughts skipped over it for the most part, not caring
that he had attempted to hide it when she did notice it. That one had been
caused by some animal, something with fangs, not a wand.
Not by another person that had likely been defending themselves or someone else
from him. Just like Remus would have done if Barty's spell hadn't been the one
to land first. The image of the werewolf on the floor of the Weasley's home,
blood staining the carpet flashed through her mind and she squeezed her eyes
shut.
Her throat clenched as she reminded herself that he was out of Saint Mungo's
now. That he was better and had recently gone on a mission for the Order, even
if he was accompanied by another member unlike the time he was recruiting...
She swallowed to try and get the bad taste out of her mouth. Of his warm skin,
lips, tongue. How could she have touched him like that after everything?
Actually pulling his clothes off herself? Those sounds she had made when he
touched her?
"Need you."
Her skin warmed at what she had said. The way her voice had almost turned into
a whine as she told him to take her.
She leaned down, her forehead hitting the coffee table with a dull thump. What
was wrong with her?
"Hermione?" Her head shot up at the sound of his voice. To see him standing
there in an unbuttoned shirt, just a few inches of that scar showing, loose
pants clinging to his hips, an arm outstretched toward her that held a cup of
tea, steam rising from the mug.
She reached out for the glass, both hands slipping around it so it wouldn't
fall as she took it from him. Her eyes lowered to look at the orange hue of the
drink before she took a sip from the cup, not entirely sure if she could meet
his gaze right now. Not when the only thing she could currently think about was
how many people he had hurt, killed. And she was here with him now, drinking
tea, a pleasant ache in her muscles, too aware of his eyes on her.
There was a sigh to her right. "I'm sorry about the other day. If I said
anything to upset you during then I didn't mean it, you know that. You don't
need to tell me what it was or even ask, I wouldn't do any of that to you. Not
you. Understand?"
"What about everyone else?" The question had slipped out just as she thought
it. After that she couldn't seem to stop the downward spiral her mind had taken
to. "You've imperiused people before. You did it to Alastor during fourth year
and who knows how many people before that, possibly after it." She raised her
gaze slowly, keeping the mug close to her, like a shield. "Do you really expect
me to believe you didn't do anything to push the Ministry to let you out when
you won't even tell me the truth?"
"I can't-"
"And how could you do that to another person after being put through it
yourself? You told me what your father did to you with that curse. That he kept
you under it for years. You have to know more than anyone else what it feels
like to have no control over anything, to just... not have a choice. I'm not
saying I could ever understand it myself, but after everything you went through
with that curse you would put someone else under it? Because it does matter,
you can't just do that. You can't make someone else suffer, no matter if it's
for a couple seconds or a year. There's no reason to. It's..." she shook her
head, looking back to her tea.
"It's part of my job. That's what a Death Eater does, Hermione. Alastor was a
part of that. After getting away from my father and finding Voldemort he
requested that I brought Harry to him. Do you really think I would have been
able to if Alastor wasn't under the curse? Even if I didn't do it someone else
would have to keep him from telling Dumbledore about what was going on. How I
wasn't who I said I was."
She could feel his fingers on her cheek, running up along her cheekbone. "Did
he also tell you to torture Remus? To kill an entire family?" Hermione asked,
unsure if she should be leaning away from his touch or towards it. She couldn't
make her body move, she couldn't decide what was best.
"I already told you before. He walked into a meeting location, lurked around
afterward, trying to figure out what we were up to. If it was the Order do you
think they would just have a member stand around and do nothing to stop a Death
Eater from figuring out their secrets?" She didn't miss the fact that he
completely avoided her other question.
Why would he comment on it though? That had been her fault. She shouldn't have
mentioned it, but it kept gnawing at her mind, not leaving her alone. The fact
that he didn't sound the least bit sorry about everything he was telling her
about right now... it made the bite worse. "They wouldn't have gone as far as
you did. You probably would have killed him if he didn't get away from you, or
tortured him like how..." Her mouth closed. Like how you tortured me for
information. She didn't say the words, she couldn't. If she did she would be
left wondering how she had forgotten all of that when she was the one on top of
him.
He must have known what her unspoken words were anyway. "If I had known... I
wouldn't have. If I could go back I wouldn't have done that. None of it." The
silence between them stretched before he spoke again, "But you can't expect me
to not do my duty. I'm one of his faithful, a part of the inner circle-"
"Why?"
"Excuse me?"
Hermione raised her head slowly, trying to ignore the feel of his fingers
running through her hair. "Why are you one of his faithful? How could you...
What about me?" She hated the sob that almost broke through the single word.
"My friends, my family. Everyone I care about, they're all against your Lord
but you would put him before me? You would torture Remus again." She knew that
without a doubt. He hadn't said otherwise, gave no indication that what he did
to the werewolf was wrong. "Blood traitors, muggles, everything your Lord hates
is someone I love and you don't even care."
His hand dropped from her and she felt a rush of relief run through her. "You
can't ask me to do something you won't do yourself, Hermione."
The words twisted inside her, sharp as a knife, faster than any spoken spell.
She couldn't sit here any longer like this, not with the heavy air almost
choking her. "I have class," she muttered, feeling the need to say something
even as she set the still full mug down and got up from the couch.
She moved quickly, never looking his way as she got her black robe, slipped her
feet into her shoes before stepping into the fireplace to have the roar of
flames surround her. The green glow did nothing to sooth her. It was the color
of death, the very thing he was likely to start causing the moment he left the
house.
Once the flames died around her she stepped out from the hearth, brushing away
the specks of ash on her robe. "Oh!" She raised her gaze to see Ginny sprawled
out on the couch looking directly at her, but a second after she had jumped
right up and moved forward to take Hermione's hand. "Come on. McGonagall said
she needed to talk to you when you got back from wherever with Blaise." Her gut
twisted hard as she followed her friend out of the common room. Simply because
it never was Blaise. If she had ended up with someone at school this wouldn't
have been necessary.
Her footsteps seemed extra loud on the stone when Ginny didn't say another word
after starting down the stairs. It was as if she were talking a walk down a
long hall to the electric chair. She had to break the silence somehow. "Was she
mad?"
She could see Ginny glance at her from the corner of her eye. "Well, when Harry
showed up for detention she told him that she had decided that it wasn't
necessary. Though when you didn't show up she asked Harry to look for you. Of
course Harry looked at the Marauder's Map and didn't see you there. Next we
looked in the Room of Requirement. By then we knew you weren't at the school
and told McGonagall. She mentioned Blaise was missing as well." Ginny sighed.
"When she said that she didn't sound particularly happy and told us that if
Harry, Ron, or me saw you when you got back to take you to her classroom so you
could... talk."
At Ginny's wince she frowned. That didn't sound good. But it's not like she had
a choice and she would make McGonagall see that. All she had to do was... not
mention him.
Ginny had stopped at her side and Hermione looked up to see the open classroom
door. 'I'll see you at breakfast then," she told her friend. Ginny just nodded
before walking back down the hallway.
Hermione took a breath as if the air was filled with liquid courage and walked
to the back of the classroom. She pushed the door to McGonagall's office open.
"Morning, Professor. You wanted to see me?"
"Close the door behind you and take a seat, Miss Granger." She glanced up
quickly to see Snape standing to the side of McGonagall's desk, the woman was
currently holding a frown and a distinct air of disappointment around her, lips
still sealed shut.
She closed the door softly behind her, not missing the flick of her Head of
House's wand. A silencing charm. Hermione walked over to the open chair
opposite of hers and sat down, hoping that her stunt didn't somehow get her
into a detention that didn't just go away.
The room was quite a few more seconds as she wasn't sure what to say after
coming in here. The air in the room didn't help her either. Finally there was a
sigh from McGonagall. "I realize the detention I gave you and Harry was unfair
but I still expected the both of you to show up and be there for when I planned
to tell you that. You however were nowhere to be found. In fact, you weren't
even at the school. Your planned detention may have been canceled and whether
you knew of that or not you still didn't show up at the scheduled time. You
planned to skip the detention all along, Miss Granger. Is that correct?"
From the look on McGonagall's face she wanted Hermione to say no. But she
wanted that to be the truth, not a lie. "Yes, Professor."
There was a snort from where Snape stood. "What else did you expect, Minerva?
For it all to be some big mix up? That she just happened to 'forget' about her
detention?" Hermione's fingers curled into the fabric of her robe at his words.
"That's enough Severus." McGonagall spoke the words to him, but her gaze stayed
on Hermione. She was quiet for awhile and the silence had begun to grate on
Hermione's nerves before she said anything again. "I know you weren't with
Blaise this weekend, Hermione."
She couldn't stop herself from staring at the Professor. "Wha-How?"
McGonagall frowned. "Severus requested that Blaise stay at the school last
weekend because of your detention and since the two of you usually spend it
together, but instead he went away just like you. At first I thought you were
with him, but then Severus spoke to me yesterday. He went to find Blaise and
drag the both of you back to school for not doing as either of you were told.
Instead he found out that Blaise was with Daphne Greengrass. She told him you
had agreed to cover for Blaise's match until she was comfortable with making
the announcement herself. While it's very noble of you to have done that, it
still means you were missing from the school grounds and that no one knew where
you actually were. Furthermore, Blaise mentioned that the match you supposedly
changed was never actually changed. Now, from what I understand Blaise was
approached by you first and you both agreed to cover for each-other concerning
your matches. Right?"
Hermione just nodded her head.
"Now, what I can't understand is why you left the school grounds without
telling anyone where you were actually going so we could contact you. It's a
requirement for when you leave the school. The only reason I haven't asked
before is because Blaise usually provides the location to Severus, and with the
assumption that you two were matches it was suspected that the two of you spent
that time together. With that not being the case though," McGonagall paused,
sighing, a hand placed on her forehead as if to drive away a headache. "I need
to know where you disappear to during the weekend."
She felt like her heart was lodged in her throat, making it impossibly for her
to speak. "Answer the question, Miss Granger," Snape snapped.
Hermione glanced between the two Professors, her gaze resting back on
McGonagall. "I don't know."
"How do you not know?" Professor Snape sounded more like he was hissing around
his teeth. "You've been there before, haven't you? Or do you actually go
somewhere new each time and it's suppose to be a secret between you and your
match so he can surprise you. Either tell us or you won't be going anywhere-"
McGonagall sighed once again. "There's no need for threats, Severus." She
turned back to Hermione. "I just want to know for your own safety. That's why
we have the rule in place. Even if you just tell me the city that would be
enough until you leave again. By then I would like an address though-"
"I don't know where though. Really." Hermione insisted as her fingers started
to shake from on top of her robes and she dug them in further to try and make
them stay still. "It's not a city. It's in the forest so I don't have an
address to give you even if I did know it." She paused, but she didn't really
have a choice here. "I get there by portkey. It's the same place every time, at
the same exact time. I only use the floo network when getting back. I'm sorry,
but I really don't know where it is." And I wouldn't tell you even if I did
know. If any of her Professors showed up or anyone else at school and Barty
answered the door it would be a disaster. It's not like they got any visitors
besides Narcissa and possessed wolves anyway so there was no reason for him not
to answer the door.
"You get there by portkey?"
She nodded her head quickly at McGonagall's question. Her stomach twisted a
moment later though. What if she asked her to hand over the portkey?
"Very well." A sigh of relief escaped her and she felt relieved when McGonagall
didn't comment on the action. Though Snape looked about to when McGonagall
spoke again, "I don't like it, but there's nothing to be done. However, there
is still the issue of your match, Hermione. If you're not going out during the
weekend to be with Blaise like you said before then I expect there to be an
actual reason for you to have been skipping detention rather than some portkey
taking you there at a designated time."
Hermione took a breath. This was the part of the conversation that she had
prepared herself for after hearing about what Snape had done this weekend. The
minutes she had gotten to do so would have to be enough. "He doesn't go to
school here. I mean, he did, but not anymore. He graduated years ago, and
that's why I leave during the weekends. Because of my schooling I only have to
be there for two days instead of three, but the law requires that I be there
or... the Ministry would say I had broken the law if I hadn't gone. I had to
go. So I couldn't actually attend the detention anyway."
McGonagall was silent for a second. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
She bit at the inside of her cheek. "Because I promised Blaise I would cover
for him and his match. Neither of us were to say anything about it. So telling
you would have been going against that agreement."
"What about your match?"
Hermione felt herself freeze for a moment. "I... What are you asking?"
"Apologies." McGonagall glanced down at the papers in front of her before
looking back at Hermione. "What I meant was... This is the same match that you
rushed off to the Ministry of Magic to change, correct?" At Hermione's nod she
continued, "So, it's not as bad as you thought. Right? If you're going to some
destination you don't even know of you're okay with him then? Initially you
didn't come back from the Ministry the next day after you left that night. I'm
just worried about you. If there's anything you want to talk to me about you
can. And if he's abusing you or anything you can tell me."
"No." She straightened in her chair. "I mean, I have a counselor for anything
like that and though we got off on the wrong foot we're fine now. My counselor
helped me with the situation of my match. That's why I took so long at the
Ministry."
"That's good to hear."
Hermione shifted slightly in her seat. "You're not going to tell anyone else
are you? My friends don't know because of my agreement with Blaise."
"Aren't you going to ask her who her match is?" Snape snapped before McGonagall
could say anything else. His eyes were narrowed as he looked at Hermione. "We
both already know Blaise's true match. Don't you want to know her's as well?"
McGonagall glanced at Snape then back to Hermione. "I assume your reasoning for
not telling anyone yet is because like Daphne you're not comfortable about
saying anything?" Hermione nodded, resisting the urge to glare back at Snape.
"Then I don't see any reason to hassle you over it. This marriage law was a
surprise to everyone and it passed so quickly that no one had begun to get use
to even the idea when the Ministry sent out those letters. I won't hold it
against you if you don't want to say who it is. That's something you need to be
ready for. And that's the end of the discussion, Severus." The woman had turned
her head to frown at her fellow Professor when he opened his mouth to sneer
again.
"Is it okay if I go down for breakfast now?" It seemed over, and now all she
wanted was to get out of there.
"You may go."
The moment McGonagall gave her leave she was out of the room, heading back to
the Gryffindor Commons to grab her bag before going down to the Great Hall. She
located her friends quickly to sit beside them in an empty seat they must have
saved. Hermione had gotten here a bit later than usual so the room held the
entirety of the school except for a few stragglers.
"How did it go?" Ginny asked.
"It was fine," Hermione said, before adding, "It would have gone better if
Snape hadn't been there." He had actually been demanding to know the name of
her match... Well, at least he wasn't one of the Death Eaters that knew about
Barty. It seemed that just included the Malfoy family. If he had known the
Order would know, and so would her friends. She couldn't imagine they would
keep it silent if they knew either.
"Was he trying to get you in more trouble?"
"Yeah. He probably wanted me to get detention again and go to it this time as
well." Hermione said, stabbing her fork through a piece of bacon.
"That greasy old bat needs to find a different hobby." Ron snapped from across
the table. "He enjoys giving out detention way too much."
"Don't forget about how he loves taking house points," Harry added.
"Particularly Gryffindor. He doesn't take any from his own House."
"Prejudiced git." Ron supplied just as said man walked through the door from
the front of the room with McGonagall, a deep scowl on his face. Even his
pointed nose seemed to twitch in distaste.
As Snape went to his chair McGonagall had moved to Dumbledore's side, muttering
something into his ear. Hermione watched from the corner of her eye as she bit
into her bacon. There was a deep frown on her Head of House's face and when she
moved over to her own seat Dumbledore stood up, even though he must have given
the morning announcement already.
There wasn't any change to his own expression as he approached the podium but
then he gave his wide smile when he was standing there again. "Settle down,
everyone." His voice boomed around the room as usual and it went quiet. "I
would like to welcome the Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, to this
morning's feast!" The sound of the doors opening right then signaled his
arrival and half the students must have looked over at the door. The other half
was staring at Dumbledore, Hermione included. Surely he would have mentioned
this at the beginning of the feast instead of now? Dumbledore's gaze was on the
door as well as he started introducing those who must have accompanied the
Minister. "I would also like to welcome Shacklebolt, Tiberius, Cuthota, and
Crouch."
The bacon in her mouth tasted like ash at that last name. As she heard the
footsteps coming closer her stomach twisted. She wished her table wasn't one of
those in the middle of the room. At least she was sitting on the inner side so
she didn't see them.
"Right, right. Thank you Dumbledore." That must have been the Minister as he
passed by quickly on his way to the podium that Dumbledore was now standing by.
Hermione turned her head quickly so she was looking across the table at Ron
Weasley instead of the front of the room. Her friend's face seemed to have gone
as red as a tomato, but from the look on his face it wasn't out of
embarrassment. He was glaring at the group still walking down the path between
the tables. If she were to look toward Harry he would likely be doing the same.
The louder the footsteps got the slower they seemed to get to her. She
tightened her grip on the fork, the metal threatening to cut into her skin. It
was when the steps were at their slowest that she saw bits of smoke in front of
her, just noticing Ginny's screwed up face a moment later. Cigarette smoke.
Yet, she couldn't cough.
Calm down.
The words floated at the edge of her mind. Her grip on the fork loosened, just
barely held up in the air between her fingers.
Remember, they can't mention your marriage. But, you must say something or
they'll try again.
In the next second the footsteps were loud again, soon climbing up the steps to
the raised platform that held the table all the Professors sat at. And, of
course, the Minister and his odd little parade.
Her shoulders lowered as the smoke dissipated into the air. It was like every
muscle in her body had loosened, no longer tight and strung. With a glance
around the students she could see - without looking toward the podium - they
didn't seem as tense as before either. More like they had just come from a
relaxing massage, but their eyes said differently. Those still held fear, and
others' - like Ron's - held anger.
"It's so nice to see all the hard-working students here at Hogwarts!" That was
the Minister's voice again. The room was silent. Hermione didn't dare look up.
She could hear a brief murmuring at the podium and she could only guess that
the Minister had shared a few words with Dumbledore.
"For those of you new and old this is are new Minister for Magic, just
appointed last year after Fudge resigned." It was only at Dumbledore's
prompting that a few clapping hands came from the student populace. Most of it
was from the Professors' table, but even that sounded forced.
It must have been enough for the Minister though. "Yes, that's very nice of you
all." She couldn't see one smile from where she sat, a few of the students,
like her weren't even looking at the podium. They seemed to have frozen over
into statues in their seats. "I can't thank Dumbledore enough for my invitation
here this morning." There was some applause at that, but then again, they liked
Dumbledore. "Such charming students you have."
"Yes, they are." Dumbledore agreed, who must have been beaming to encourage his
students to be on their best behavior in front of the Minister. No matter who
he had just entered the room with.
"I'm sorry to have heard about the incident that happened just a few weeks ago
in this very room. It is for that reason that I am here now with our former
Azkaban resident. As many of you have already read in the Prophet, this man was
falsely accused and imprisoned under the suspicion of being a Death Eater. It
is unfortunate that we only learned the truth a few months ago and we would
like to assure you that there is no reason to fear this man. He is just like
you and I, law-abiding citizens of the Britain Ministry of Magic." There was a
long pause.
"Could I get some ear plugs for the thunderous applause he keeps getting?"
Barty. She noticed a student's eyes widen even with them looking directly at
the podium.
The sound of the Minister clearing his throat was rather loud. "It is my
understanding that some of you feared this man when fellow students of yours
let a boggart loose in this very hall. For the younger years that may or may
not know, a boggart takes the shape of something or anyone you fear the most.
Apparently before horror struck this school most of you were having a rather
fun time with this. It was also unfortunate when-"
"I believe they already heard this part." She had to force herself to set the
fork down slowly instead of letting it clatter onto her plate, like she heard a
few other utensils do.
"Yes, well, it's unfortunate that your image is tarnished in such a way.
Wouldn't you think? Now, As I was saying-"
"Minister for less than a year, I bow before you. A stage will be raised and
harlequins will perform on this ground where you have resigned. Pass on in
silence and bear us no speeches."
A single snort of laughter came from a corner of the room. "I-What?"
"I want to leave this horrendous performance. What say you?" Barely a second
later she could hear three sets of feet coming down the stairs, between her
table and another, heading towards her.
You must say something or they'll try again.
The words floated through her mind once more, though she still wasn't sure
where they had initially come from. Say something? Why did she have to say
something? The Minister had done his speech already. Barty, one of the people
she presumed to be Cuthota, and one of the other men were leaving already. What
could she possibly say to make the Minister not try and use her and Barty to
show that he wasn't a Death Eater? Hadn't he had enough already?
Say something.
There it was again. Those footsteps were louder now, so loud they would be
passing her any second. Barty had to be in the front... "Thank you," the words
slipped out just as she heard his boot fall behind her, and then continue
walking down the aisle toward the door.
Something clattered on the plate across from her and she forced her eyes down
to not see the expression Ron currently wore.
Chapter End Notes
     ... *insert more dots* No, I really don't know why Barty is quoting
     Princess Mononoke in here.
***** Chapter 26 *****
Hermione peered out of the corner of her eye to the podium. She would rather
look there than towards Ron or any of her friends.
The Minister, Rufus Scrimgeour had a red tint to his face. Though she was
unsure if that was because of his own embarrassment or anger. Tiberius, the
only one still standing next to the Minister was hissing something in the man's
ear. Even with the Great Hall this silent it was impossible to make sense of
the sounds, it was just like the rattling of a snake. The Minister seemed to
get a hold of himself, not quite still as the second before, his gaze was
moving quickly over the students. For a moment she thought he was threatening
them to make any comment about what had just happened. Then his gaze landed on
her, his eyes narrowed into slits for a fraction of a second before with a curl
of his lip he turned away and started walking down the podium, fast.
She ducked her head back down as the Minister and Tiberius passed by and soon
the door to the hall was closed behind them. There was no noise after that for
at least ten seconds, and then the Great Hall was full of voices talking
swiftly,
"Did you see his face? He looked outraged!"
"What did we just witness?"
"Not fluff and peanut butter, that's for sure."
"Fluff?"
"Marshmallow."
"Say that next time, then."
"Next time?"
"How does fluff and peanut butter taste?"
" Nirvana!"
"Was is just me or was he glaring at us?"
"Stark-raving mad."
"I need to tell my mum about this."
"Too bad the Prophet wasn't here to catch that."
"The Minister controls what the Prophet publishes dumb ass."
"Yeah, he wouldn't allow that."
"It would sell."
"Potential witnesses for the  Quibller  publication? The one place for real
news."
"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron's voice cut through the flow of voices.
"Hermione?" She closed her eyes, just wanting to drown herself in the waves of
talk around her. Couldn't he just leave it alone? "Why the hell did you just
thank him? He's a Death Eater," that last sentence was hissed, though there was
no reason to. The multitude of voices around them made it near impossible to
hear what Ron was saying. She supposed she should be thankful that his voice
remained low.
"That's hardly his biggest offense." Her finger twitched at the sound of
Harry's voice. She didn't want him to bring up Barty's crimes again.
"Right." Ron jumped in quickly. "He put Remus in the hospital and would have
killed Harry if given the chance. All in the name of you-know-who. What in
Merlin's name could you have been thanking him for? For not bleeding Remus
out?"
"Hey, stop it." Ginny snapped at her brother. "You too, Harry. She was already
interrogated by McGonagall earlier, she doesn't need the two of you ganging up
on her now." She was on the verge of sending a silent thank you to her friend
when Ginny spoke again, "That being said. Why would you thank him for anything?
Seeing the Minister made a fool of in public is a treat, sure, but I still
don't understand-"
Hermione drained the rest of the juice from her glass, setting it on the table
before she got up swiftly, already moving away and towards the doors. There
were other students heading out already and she ignored the loudly hissed,
"Hermione!" from behind her, just walking forward, out of the room into the
hallway.
Judging by the scraping of wood on the floor though the three of them were
getting up and would be following her out any second now. Her gaze moved
swiftly through the hall and the students walking around, looking for the one
person that could get her out of this.
"No." Her eyes flickered over at the sound of Draco's voice. He was currently
glaring at Luna Lovegood; sporting a pair of funky glasses that looked like
they had been stolen off a muggle hipster, a roll of parchment in hand along
with a quill floating in the air beside her. Though instead of the usual grey
feather it was fluffy and pink, somehow complimenting her chosen pair of
glasses. The earrings shaped like sea horses just looked out of place with her
other accessories. Luna had a style she wasn't sure she would ever understand,
but if Draco was near the end of the hall then Blaise couldn't be too far away.
She began to walk over swiftly, not missing out on their conversation though
with Luna's distinct dream-state voice and Draco's ever rising tone.
"It's just needed for a witness account and you could even add your view to it-
"
"I don't want to be mentioned in any way in your stupid tabloid you bloody
lunatic! Stop asking!"
Despite being yelled at Luna didn't look the least deterred from her chosen
task. She simply grabbed the floating quill and started writing on the paper in
front of her, speaking out loud, "Draco Malfoy was very expressive of his views
on today's event-"
A rip sounded through the air as Draco grabbed the parchment and tore it from
Luna's grasp. "I said I don't want to be in your bloody paper. Didn't your
father ever teach you not to hassle people over such insignificant things? Or
did your mother just not get the chance before she blew herself up?"
Her footsteps stopped for a moment. What? If he knew such a personal thing why
would he bring it up? More importantly-
"Hermione!" Ron's shout from behind her spurred her forward past Draco who was
still snarling at Luna while he balled up the parchment, throwing it at her
head. Luna caught it when it bounced back down in the palms of her hands,
speaking too softly for her to hear.
She spotted Blaise just beyond Draco quickly enough. Daphne wasn't too far away
either, running a hand absently through her hair while looking out at the crowd
of people before catching sight of her. For a moment her lips pursed, then she
looked to her left, giving a small nod to Blaise.
Hermione sighed softly when she approached him, feeling better about getting
Daphne's permission and that she had kept it subtle. Blaise merely wrapped his
arms around her when she stepped forward, drawing her close to him and
whispering soothing words into her ear.
She could hear them walking over towards her anyway, "Hey, Hermione-" There was
a sharp slap delivered to the hand that must have reached for her as she heard
Ron curse a second later.
"She didn't come over here to see you, weaselbee." Her eyes widened to hear
Malfoy's voice fill the air. "In fact, it looks like she wants nothing to do
with you. So why don't you just scram?"
"As if you know her at all to make that sort of assumption-"
"Oh, did I hurt your feelings? So sorry, but it looks like she came over to see
her match, Blaise. Or had you forgotten about that in your desperate attempt to
hassle her over something she had no control over?"
"No control over?" Ron practically screamed, though at this point she wasn't
sure if he was more mad at what she had said in the Great Hall or at Malfoy.
"What would you know about it? Nothing! So get out of the way so we can speak
to our friend!"
"I can't believe your so stupid," Draco's voice was close to sounding like
venom being spit through the air. "It must be because of your family status.
You've fallen so below in the Ministry that you no longer know how it truly
operates. I would enlighten you myself if you weren't so daft, but I would
rather not waste my time on a blood traitor. Get lost. That goes for you too,
Potter, and the little weaselette."
"You-"
"Ron," Ginny cut in. "Come on. We have class." Their footsteps echoed in her
ears as they walked down the hall. Ron's mutterings never quite met her ears
but she could guess what he was saying by the tone of his voice.
She kept her arms secured around Blaise for awhile longer. Until she couldn't
hear them anymore before even considering loosening her grip. Hermione took a
breath as she stepped back away from him. "I'm sorry for involving you in
that."
"It's fine." Blaise said, his eyes swept over the hall before resting back on
her. "Just keeps the rumor fresh. Besides, I should be the one that's sorry for
what happened back there."
"What do you have to be sorry for?" Draco had turned to face them now, a scowl
still present on his face. She found herself wondering just how long he had
been wearing that sour expression. It had been there even when he had been
speaking to Luna... "It was my idea. You just went with it. Now let's get going
before we're late."
"Right." Blaise pushed himself away from the wall, following after Draco down
the near empty hall, only stopping for a moment to glance over his shoulder.
"Don't let the Ministry get to you," he said, before walking around the corner.
Hermione turned around, not wanting to chance meeting her friends in the hall
again after everything that had already happened. Instead her eyes landed on a
curtain of blonde hair at the other end of the hall and she quickly sprinted
forward. "Luna?" The girl's head was down, long hair obscuring her face. "Are
you okay?" She could still hardly believe Draco would say such things to her.
Even if she had been annoying him there had been no reason to go that far.
"Hmm?" Luna's head raised slowly, hair flowing back from her face. "Oh, I'm
fine," she said it with a smile but somehow her skin seemed paler than usual.
There was an obvious tear stain on her cheek that Hermione would have used so
the girl couldn't blow her off so easily but Luna raised her hand to rub it
away before she could comment on it. "Really. It's nothing."
"But you were-" Crying. She wanted to say it, but couldn't get the word out
with Luna smiling at her like that.
"It's just memories." Luna stepped away from the wall, arms hanging loosely by
her sides. "Walk with me?" Hermione wasn't sure she could refuse. No matter
what she said Luna didn't look okay. She gave a nod and the blonde smiled.
"Thank you."
It was silent for awhile as they walked through the halls, occasionally
spotting a student that was racing to class rather than walking like them. She
should probably be more concerned at getting to class as well, but she was
unsure about leaving Luna right now. Even if they weren't close she had been
part of the D.A. last year. If she wanted to walk with her for a bit that was
fine. Both of their classes were in the same direction anyway, thankfully away
from her own friends.
"I-" Luna stopped short and Hermione glanced over at her. A small smile curled
the girl's lips up, a soft laugh leaving her a second later. "I realize this is
inappropriate but, he was protecting you. Wasn't he? I could see it in the
aura."
Her feet stopped carrying her forward. What was she talking about? Was it
Blaise or Draco? She couldn't tell. "Yes." It seemed safe enough to answer.
Luna had stopped walking a couple steps ahead of her, looking up at the arcing
ceiling above. "I've never seen anything like it. With such a glow, covering
you from head-to-toe. Or well, I guess I have, it just wasn't so bright before.
It never is when the other isn't there. That's what mom said anyways. I
recognized it because she described it to me once..." There was a soft sigh.
"It's a shame something so beautiful comes from such pain."
She felt herself go still. Luna couldn't possibly be talking about Blaise or
Draco. Neither of them had ever caused her pain. Not really. Nothing like-
It was burning, she could smell it, her own skin peeling away.
Blood was running freely down her torso in small rivulets...
"You're lying to me."
...fingers clasped around her throat...
She drew in a shaky breath. After pushing the memory away this morning she
didn't want it coming back now. "You're thinking about it aren't you? When he
hurt you?" Hermione raised her head, eyes meeting Luna's own. "You don't have
to say it. I know. It must have been terrible, not knowing why... oh." The
blonde's eyes widened. "He hasn't told you."
"What are you talking about?" She had always thought Luna strange but this just
proved it. Talking about auras, about what he did to her. That was something
she shouldn't know about. The other just sounded like the typical things Luna
said, why she had such a nickname attached to her.
Luna just lowered her head, lips slipping from the usual smile that she wore
throughout the day. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have intruded."
Her soft steps echoed in her head when Luna turned away and started down the
hall. What had that just been? Sorry for intruding? On what? There was nothing
to intrude on, and why did she just bring that up? She thought she had
suppressed the memory by now. The questions kept swirling through her mind as
her gut twisted hard, acid burning her throat as she fought to keep the
contents of her stomach from sliding up her esophagus and slipping past her
lips. "What..." she swallowed, hard. "Do you mean?"
Luna didn't stop walking when she replied, "It's personal. Not something anyone
would be comfortable speaking about. I shouldn't have brought it up."
"Brought what up?" Hermione snapped. She already dealt with Barty enough to
know when someone was evading a question and she was starting to get sick of
that particular game. No matter if it was something 'good' or not for anyone.
"Crystallus Gratia." Luna didn't look at her once when she spoke so quietly
that Hermione wasn't sure she had spoken at all.
She wanted to question her further but the girl had turned to another hall, one
that went away from her own destination. Though she was already a few minutes
late and didn't care for another round of questioning from any Professors
concerning her whereabouts during the weekend. It being Monday would keep any
detention she might get during the week, though this particular professor
probably hadn't even noticed she was missing yet, probably wouldn't notice if
she didn't show up at all for class. But she couldn't chance it after
everything that had already happened.
Hermione sighed and made her way to the classroom. At least it wasn't Snape's
class, that would have been a worst case scenario after everything else that
had happened today. Now she just had to stay away from her friends... for as
long as she could anyway.
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!