Just Around the Riverbend

OH MY GOD A NEW CHAPTER!!!!

Yes, yes. It's true. I hadn't the time nor the inclination to write. But tonight...tonight was a different story. I may not have updated in a while, but this chapter is super long to make up for it! I think it was nearly seven pages in Word. ^_^

I haven't the brainpower left to respond to my few reviews from the last chappie, but I want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far. I love reviews. If you have any ideas, suggestions, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, then I urge you, no beg you to post a review. Yes, I have reduced myself to begging.

I do hope you all enjoy the next chapter.
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Hermione was pleased to hear that Daisy had woken up, and through the little American’s own scratchy writing! Hermione was amused to find out the lengths that old Malfoy was going to keep his cousin from running off again. It was almost….kind of him. But she had a sneaking suspicion that he was also doing it so that the Ministry wouldn’t arrest him for neglect.

Hermione had been invited by Daisy to come with her on a hunt for flowers to put in the newly remodeled garden.
Lucius had given his cousin a list of plant nurseries that Narcissa had frequented when she was in charge of the gardens, and a Wizard’s version of a charge card to pay for everything. Shopping with Lucius Malfoy’s money. ^_^

Hermione stood in front of her closet, trying to decide on an outfit to wear. It wasn’t that she was trying to impress anyone! That wasn’t the case! She couldn’t give a rat’s arse what others thought. But there was something about the way the elder Malfoy’s eyes wandered when she was wearing a flattering outfit that made her all fluttery inside. Maybe it was indigestion…

She shimmied into a light yellow sundress and paired it with tasteful (and comfortable) flats, and then pinned her unruly curls behind her head to keep them out of her way.

“Time for a day of good old-fashioned child-sitting.” She joked to herself, and applied some clear lip balm as she Apparated away.

She landed on the front stoop of Malfoy Manor, and knocked soundly on the ornate knocker. The door was opened by a bright-eyed house-elf whom she’d been introduced to earlier as Benson. The little elf squeaked happily when he saw Hermione, and opened the door wider.

“Come in, Miss Hermione! Master Malfoy has been waiting for you!” Benson squeaked. Hermione stepped inside the large foyer, and the excited elf quickly grabbed her and disappeared, taking them both to Lucius’ study. Hermione stumbled a bit when her feet hit the ground, but she recovered quickly and smoothed her dress embarrassedly.

“Good to see you’ve made it in one piece, Miss Granger.”

Hermione looked over to the large desk, and nearly had a coronary. Lucius was dressed…..casually. He was wearing woolen black trousers and a green button-up shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled up to his elbows. He was holding a quill in his hands, and his fingers were actually smudged with ink. Wow…pristine Malfoy actually looked good casual. Wait! What was she thinking!?

“I know you are to be taking Daisy off for the day, but before you leave, I would like to talk a bit of business with you…if that’s all right, of course.” He said. Hermione stood blankly for a minute, still a bit distracted by the lean forearms. He was probably strong….oh muffins!

“Yes, of course, sir. That’s fine.” She flustered. Lucius raised a blonde eyebrow.

“Very well. I was wondering if you might consider becoming a live-in companion for my cousin.” He said.

Hermione looked at him silently. A live-in companion? Was he serious? Oh gods…he was!

“Um….I…that’s….old-fashioned of you….” She said.

“You’d be surprised how common it is for those who can….afford it.” He said, and gave a rather cheeky smirk.

“Well. I don’t know….what would the terms of my employment be?” she asked.

“I’m glad you asked. You would be given room and board here, free of charge. You would have free reign of a vast majority of the house, including the library….” He watched her eyes sparkle a bit. “You would be given a weekly allowance of spending money to save or spend as you wished, and I would give you a full day off every week, or more if emergencies and/or special occasions arise.” He said.

Hermione seriously considered what he had said. Live-in companionship could be a breezy, easy way to make a living, or it could be impossibly frustrating. But she would be Daisy’s companion, and she already knew the American teenager was easy company. But she was a little weary about staying in the same house as Malfoy. He wasn’t exactly harmless….

As if he could sense her reluctance, Lucius intervened again. “I am in the opposite wing from Daisy. You mustn’t worry about the big, bad Death Eater stalking you in your sleep.” He said. Hermione frowned.

“I’m not worried about that. I could hex your bits off if you got too close.” He said.

“There goes that Gryffindor exuberance causing your mouth to write a cheque your wand most likely can’t cash.” He snarked at her. She narrowed her eyes at the blonde wizard. She didn’t like that he was implying she couldn’t kick his arse. Because she could. Oh she could.

He kept his icy blue eyes locked with her narrowed brown ones. He didn’t like that she thought she could kick his arse. Because she couldn’t. Oh she couldn’t.

“I’ll take the job.” She said. “When do I start?” she added.

“Immediately if possible. I’ll have the elves set up a suite near Daisy for you. You can choose which one you like when you get back from this ‘plant run’ as Daisy keeps calling it.” He said.

~~

Hermione wasn’t very talkative as Daisy fawned over the plants in the first shop. She kept thinking about what she had gotten herself into by saying ‘yes’ to Malfoy. She would be living in the same house as him…and sleeping in the same house as him….eating at the same table….

“Look at these roses!”

Hermione looked over to see Daisy caressing a large rose blossom. It was one of those bi-color blossoms, yellow in the center, and pink at the tips. It was lovely. But what was interesting was that while Daisy stood near the plant, another bud was opening. The hard green bud broke open to reveal its flower, and grew impossibly large before stopping.

As a matter of fact….it seemed that all of the plants here had perked up since Daisy walked in. That one dead one near the back was green again. Wow…

And Hermione wasn’t the only one noticing the effect on the plants. The shopkeeper was watching Daisy with greedy interest, and Hermione swore she could see the galleons in the man’s eyes. She watched closely as he approached Daisy.

“So you like the roses, my dear?” he asked, putting on a most magnificent front of kindness.

“Oh yes sir! They’re very lovely. Do you have six of these rose bushes?” she asked. The man raised an eyebrow. Those bushes weren’t cheap.

“I do. Might I ask where they’ll be sent?” he asked gingerly. Daisy’s attention was already caught by some smaller ‘lining’ flowers, blooming in every color of the rainbow.

“Malfoy Manor.” Daisy said absently, drifting over to the ever perking plants. The shopkeeper looked at Daisy in shock, and then towards his counter, where he had left a recent edition of the Prophet.

“You’re Lucius Malfoy’s cousin….” He said, suddenly realizing who the little girl in his shop was. Of course she could pay for those roses! Hell….if she was being pampered as the papers were saying, she could buy the whole shop!

Hermione watched the galleons in the man’s eyes grow bigger, and narrowed her own eyes. He was going to try and take advantage of Daisy’s distraction, and of Lucius’ wallet. The Gryffindor lion in her growled, and she moved from her neutral position, coming between Daisy and the approaching salesman.

“Daisy.… You mustn’t spend everything here. We still have several other shops to visit.” She said, putting her arm on the teenager’s shoulder.

“’Course, Hermione. I just want to explore a little more here. I think I want a few containers of these little flowers, too.” She said, pointing to the rainbows of little containers. The salesman took this time to interrupt.

“Of course, my dear. I’ll have those added to your receipt. Now…I just got in a shipment of wonderfully fragrant Dragon’s breath Blooms.” He said. Daisy’s blue eyes lit up like a four-year-old at Christmas.

“You carry those? Sweet! Show me, show me, show me!” she said. The greedy little shopkeeper put a hand on Daisy’s shoulder, and led her away from Hermione, but not before sharing a triumphant smirk with the outraged Muggleborn. Hermione stalked behind them, watching as Daisy added several more plants to her store total. Hermione tried several times to catch the girl’s attention, but each time the clerk interrupted, leading Daisy to different, and exceedingly more expensive plants. Finally, when Daisy approached a several-hundred galleon plant, Hermione basically knocked the clerk out of her way, and came between Daisy and the plant.

“Daisy…I think we’ve spent enough here. Don’t you think we should move on? I’ve heard there are great flowers at the other stores.” She said. Daisy blinked a few times, as if coming from a daze.

“Yeah…okay.” She said, and turned to the salesman. “I’d like to check out now, please.” She said. The clerk smiled ‘kindly’ at her.

“Of course, my dear.” He said, and led Daisy up to the counter. He tallied up the plants she had gathered, and with a sickly sweet smile he turned to her.

“Your total comes to one-thousand galleons even.” He said. Hermione and Daisy both looked at each other, and then back at the clerk.

“One…..th-thousand?” Daisy asked.

“Yes, miss.” He said.

Daisy looked at Hermione again. “Should I put some back?” she asked quietly. Hermione looked at the plants that the clerk had put up at the front for Daisy. She had looked so happy when she had picked them out. Lucius Malfoy could afford a thousand galleons!

“No. Just pay and we’ll go.” Hermione said softly. Daisy withdrew the charge card from her pocket, and handed it to the clerk. He ran his wand over the black strip, and then handed it back to Daisy.

“Have a nice day, Miss. I hope you enjoy your flowers. You have excellent taste.” He said, and grinned when Daisy nodded mutely.

The two women left the shop, and Daisy was quiet as they walked.

“You know he’s not going to be mad at you, right?” Hermione said. Daisy shrugged. “Lucius Malfoy has more money in his sofa cushions than you spent today.” She teased gingerly.

“I’ve never spent so much at one time before. It felt like I was betraying his trust or something.” Daisy said. Hermione laughed, and put her arm around Daisy.

“I promise you that’s not the case. Come on…let’s go to the next store.” She said. Daisy looked at Hermione in shock.

“We’re going to spend more?” she asked.

“Yeah! I think I heard Lucius say there was a new store in Diagon Alley. Let’s check it out!”

As the two women walked towards Diagon Alley, they were unaware of a pair of calculating eyes on them. The stranger watched them, waiting for his chance to strike. There!

As Hermione and Daisy turned walk onto Diagon Alley, the stranger rushed from the shadows, grabbing Hermione’s purse and wrenching it from her shoulder. She was pulled off balance by the assault, but let go, and the thief made his getaway on foot.

Daisy watched as Hermione hopped to right herself, and then watched the purse snatcher run off, before making her split-second decision. She took off after the purse snatcher, weaving through the crowd easily.

“No!” Hermione cried, quickly losing sight of Daisy in the large crowd. It wasn’t worth the danger to go after the thief. All Hermione had in that purse was a few galleons, some gum, and an emergency tampon. She wasn’t stupid enough to carry large amounts of cash on her. But there was no way Daisy could know that. Fuckity, fuck, fuck and double-fuck!

Daisy was short, but she was very fleet-footed. She was on the heels of the purse-snatcher, and was determined to catch him. She chased him all the way down, and darted in after him when he ducked into an empty lane. She drew her wand and pointed it as the thief ran into a dead end.

“Turn around!” she hissed. She saw the thief ball up his free hand, and then whirl around. Her wand hand faltered a bit.

The purse-snatcher couldn’t be any older than she was. Maybe fifteen at he most. He was a bit short for a boy, but he was well built and stocky. His hair was an amazing shade of grayish silver, and his eyes were a wolfish yellow. He cut an imposing figure.

“You’d do well to lower that wand, girl. Do you know who I am?”

“I don’t give a fat flying fuck who you are! Throw me the purse, you thieving bastard!” Daisy snapped. The young man’s eyes narrowed at her.

“My father is well-known and feared around here-”

“Tell your father to lick the crack of my ass! Now give the purse back!” she repeated. The boy stood, a bit shocked at her language, before his face twisted angrily.

“You want the purse? Fine!” he said, and threw the purse at Daisy’s head. She reached up to catch it, and as she did the boy rushed her, knocking her to the ground and escaping the lane.

“That fucker!” Daisy swore, picking herself up off of the ground. Hermione barreled into the lane at that time.

“Oh thank the gods!” she cried, and wrapped her arms around Daisy, nearly squeezing the life out of her. “Don’t you ever, ever, ever do that again you silly girl!” Hermione scolded, and let Daisy go. Daisy held out the purse meekly, and Hermione’s fiery expression softened. “It wasn’t worth it, Daisy.” She said, and gently took her purse from the teenager.

“I hate thieves.” Daisy said shortly.

“I know. As do I….but you can’t just chase after a purse-snatcher like that, Daisy. It’s not worth the few galleons I keep on me. It’s never worth it.” She added, and gently tipped up Daisy’s chin. “Your life is more valuable than any purse. Now I think we’ve had enough excitement for one day. Let’s head off for lunch, and then we’ll go back the Manor.”

Daisy was quite amenable to that, and so they were off, forgetting all about the other plant shop in favor of something to eat.

~~

The boy came to a stop along one of the deepest, dirtiest nooks in Knockturn Alley. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then he drew his wand, tapping out an intricate pattern on the mouldy bricks. A doorway shimmered into view, and he quickly entered, the door falling shut behind him. His heart thudded in his chest as he walked down a narrow little hallway, and knocked gently on a door.

The door was wrenched open and he was snatched by the front of his shirt and jerked into the room.

“What did you get today, you miserable little bastard?” his father growled. The boy reached into his pocket, and withdrew three coin bags, placing them in his father’s awaiting hand. His father looked inside each back, his sharp yellow eyes darting slightly as he counted them by sight.

“You’re short on your daily quota, boy.” He said. The boy stiffened immediately, and a slight whine escaped him. “You know what that means, boy. Fetch the strap.” He growled.

“Father please, I-” but he was cut off by a staggering back-hand strike to his face. He hit the ground and slid slightly from the force of his father’s blow. The man, if he could still be called that, was impossibly strong. The boy tasted blood in his mouth as he scrambled towards a dilapidated dresser in the corner of the room. He pulled open the bottom drawer and reached in, pulling out a thick leather strap. He brought the item back to his father, and held it out, his hands shaking slightly. His father snatched the strap from him, and then the boy turned to the ‘punishment chair,’ and wordlessly dropped his pants.

The punishment was as severe as it always was, but the boy was wisely silent. His father would tolerate the tears- they were reactionary- but he would unhinge at the first sniffle. So to keep himself from crying out he breathed shallowly through his nose, and by the end of his punishment he was trembling. He held his position, clinging to the chair so tightly that the wood creaked beneath his iron grip.

“You play the submissive role, but yours is not a submissive personality. Look at you! You long to knock me to the ground and rip out my throat, don’t you boy? You keep still because you’re not strong enough, and you know it. You’re not submissive…you’re smart. You know I’d kill you. No…not submissive. You shake….but you shake with rage, not fear. You’ll make a fine Alpha one day. You’ll turn on me, and kill me, and take over here. Until then, though….you’ll earn your keep. If you continue to come up short, I’ll continue to drive this message home.”

Fenrir Grayback regarded his son carefully. He could see the beginnings of an Alpha in the boy. It was true. His son wanted nothing more than to kill him. And that made him proud.

“I shouldn’t let you, but take your sorry hide to the kitchen and get something to eat. If you ever hope to kill me you’ll need to eat and keep up your strength. Now get out of my sight.” Fenrir growled. His son quickly pulled up his trousers, and he heard the sharp intake of breath as the fabric passed over his welted bottom, but he made no more sounds as he walked from the room. The scamp! Any of the others would have scrambled.

Yes…he was an Alpha in the making.

Phelan Grayback walked towards the kitchen, his backside throbbing with each step. Short! He had been short! If that crazy little bitch hadn’t chased him down- and he still wasn’t sure how she caught him- he would have had enough money to save himself from a punishment. His father wasn’t the only one who would face his wrath someday.

That dark-skinned little Yank would feel his teeth in her neck. Oh yes….she’d pay...
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Ooo......side story. Don't worry, this little side story won't take up alot of plot space, but it will become important. (Evil Grin)

Now, like I said above, I want to hear anything you have to say. I love those reviews. Keep them coming, for they feed my muse, and she has been starving lately. Feed those plot bunnies with review carrots. THEY HUNGER!!!

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