Heirarchy of Love (Previously Claim for Life)

Disclaimer: I don't own this and am not making money.

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Chapter 17

The morning after Lucius’s attack the two Veela had been woken to find that they had been tied to the bed by an aroused Hermione, who was then teasing their cocks. She took her time bringing them off, never saying a word, just smirking smugly at them as they moaned and begged and tried to order her to fuck them. When they final experienced their climaxes they promised Hermione loads of retribution but the Gryffindor merely smiled and locked herself in the bathroom, vanishing the ropes that held the boys down at the last minute. Their revenge plotting had been interrupted by the appearance of one of the school owls with a note from Dumbledore requesting the triad join him in his office to begin working to develop their bonds. Hermione had exited the bathroom before they had a chance to hide the note and as a result they found themselves becoming increasingly flustered with their witch and later that night she had surprised them again, being a willing and creative lover.

They got her back for their torture treatment the next day when Hermione found herself chained to the bed, and giving them the go ahead found herself being teased almost to the point of orgasm over and over again until she was incoherently begging for satisfaction. When they were finished and Hermione had experienced the most shattering orgasm of her life all she could do was curl up between them and whisper, “Thank you, Masters,” before falling asleep completely contented.

With classes, private lessons with Dumbledore, studying, Quiddich (Draco), Head duties, Lucius’ trial and incarceration, reading up on Veela (Hermione had read every book in the Hogwarts library on Veela within two weeks and then moved on to coercing Draco to request more texts be sent to the school from the Malfoy’s private library. He consented when she gave him some interesting incentive) and an excess of sex Hermione didn’t realize how fast time was passing. It was now Halloween, and the day that Ron was to be released from Rehab and rejoin the school.

Hermione was nervous, even though Ron had sent her several notes apologizing and basically attacking his own character from guilt at his actions, but she still hadn’t told him about Draco and Blaise. Ron also explained how he got the recipe for the potion off a street pusher in Knockturn Alley and had thought it was some other potion that had relatively no side effects. The last few days her boys had become even more protective and overbearing, but the refused to discuss their issues with Hermione. When Ron had sent his first note Draco had been the one to retrieve it from the owl, and he promptly tore it up. When Hermione had found out it had resulted in Draco having a 5 day long ban on sex, with her at least, even though she had been about to repair the note with a simple spell.

At first Hermione wasn’t so sure about forgiving the temperamental redhead, even if it hadn’t been of a balanced mind, but as he continued to write to her and convey his deepest regrets and sincerest apologies, with a side note claiming that if she didn’t want to ever see him again he would understand, her heart melted a bit. She would give him a chance; they hadn’t been best friends for 6 years for nothing. Things would never be the same, and the real test would be Ron’s reaction to Blaise and Draco being Veela and Hermione being their mate, and if everything went wrong then at least she would still have Harry and Ginny.

At the present, Hermione was sitting in her common room, staring blankly at her copy of Hogwarts: A History trying to keep her mind off the returning redhead. It wasn’t working very well. She sighed and put the book down before she was overcome with the strange but now familiar feeling of a bond summons. One of the first things they had learned from their training with Dumbledore was that they could physically bring one another to their side, no matter where they were or how much distance was between them. They summons weren’t even disturbed by the anti-aparating charms placed on the school. The boys had had a lot of fun using this talent, much to Hermione’s exasperation, until she was able to master the technique of blocking the summons, utilizing a form of Occulmency. But before she had time to concentrate and block it or at least find out where she was going to be pulled to she disappeared from the common room and reappeared in the shower sandwiched between two smirking, and not to mention very naked, Slytherins.

Hermione shrieked with outrage and tried to jump out of the shower, only to be held back and tickled unmercifully by the drenched duo. They quickly changed from tickling to nuzzling her sensually.

“Boys,” Hermione sighed, “I already told you not today, and not for another three days, I’m on my period, and I am not in the mood to give you both a blow job right now.”

“How about one of us?” Draco asked hopefully, then pouted as Hermione rolled her eyes and extracted herself from between them, casting a quick drying spell as she stepped out of the shower. Blaise followed her, his eyes dark as he watched her, deep in thought. He walked up behind her where she stood in front of the mirror and placed his arms around her, holding her comfortably.

“Maybe you should go see Mme. Pomfrey, love,” he suggested, watching her reflection in the mirror. Draco stepped out of the shower and dried himself off sensually so that Hermione could see in the reflection of the mirror, keeping one ear on the conversation, he and Blaise had just finished discussing this topic.

Hermione scoffed, “There is nothing wrong with me, menstruation is natural for women,” she explained slowly, clearly exasperated.

“I know that,” Blaise placated, “I am just afraid something might be wrong, I … I expected you to be pregnant by now,” he explained shyly.

“Pregnant?” Hermione asked, “I’m too young to get pregnant! I am not going to throw away my education and future to have a kid now; especially since you won’t allow me to fight if I end up with a bun in the oven.”

Blaise and Draco stiffened and their eyes hardened, “Hermione,” Blaise began, uncertainly, “You haven’t been doing anything to prevent yourself from getting pregnant, have you?”

Hermione turned around to face the Veela, their eyes held a mix of confusion, anger and betrayal. She nodded, “Yes, I am on birth control,” she stated calmly, yet defiantly.

“What kind of contraceptive potion can override a fertility potion?” Draco let slip without meaning to. Hermione gasped, and Blaise shot the blonde a glare.

“You gave me a fertility potion?” Hermione asked; a dangerous edge had replaced the shock in her voice.

“We’re Veela, Hermione,” Blaise tried to explain; “You know our main goal is to procreate, and after you didn’t conceive after the first two weeks we panicked, sort of. We never saw you brew any potions or cast any spells so we thought something might be wrong, and we wanted to fix it without worrying you.”

“That hardly makes any sense,” Hermione sputtered, “And for your information I’m using muggle birth control, the Pill, and since it works in a completely different way than wizarding contraceptives it can still block them!”

Blaise and Draco were very agitated. “I don’t like it,” Draco spat.

“Oh why? ‘Cause you can’t keep me out of the war cause I’m knocked up?” Hermione said sarcastically.

“How about this Hermione,” Blaise suggested, “How about we’ll stop with the fertility potion and you go off of this pill.”

“No, Blaise,” Hermione asserted, “I’m not going off birth control, unless you are going to give up sex with me. I’m not ready to get pregnant.”

“If you’re worried about your body not being strong enough when your so young, then don’t,” Blaise tried to reassure her, “The venom Draco and I injected into your blood stream fortifies your body.”

Hermione threw him a look that said, ‘For someone so smart, you sure are being really stupid.’

“I mean I am not mentally or emotionally ready, you dimwit!” Hermione sneered. She turned to leave but hesitated and looked back, “You know, for two guys who claim to love and respect me, you don’t really seem to show it. Actions speak louder than words, gentlemen. Good day.” She turned and stormed out of the room.

Draco groaned and turned to Blaise, “Why does she always get so angry?”

“I think we need to remember that she is a Gryffindor,” Blaise said slowly, “Any other girl in any other House would probably defer to us. Hermione can be exasperating but I’d rather her and her stubbornness rather than a brainless ditz.”

Draco sighed, “I know. So what are we going to do to get back in her good graces?”

“We’ll think of something,” Blaise smirked, “We are Slytherins after all.”

***
Hermione ran all the way up to the Astronomy Tower, fuming the entire way.

‘How dare they?!’ she thought to herself as she slammed through the door. She tried to glare off at the scenery and let herself calm down but she found she couldn’t stay still. She needed to talk to someone, someone who would understand; someone who would listen: Ginny!

Unfortunately, Hermione had no idea where Ginny would be. It was a Saturday and a Hogsmead weekend, had she gone to the village to keep her mind off her returning brother or had she waited at the school in the common room? Hermione was getting frustrated. It didn’t matter where Ginny was; Hermione wanted her here, NOW!

With a small pop Ginny was suddenly standing beside an equally startled Hermione.

“How did I get here?”

“How did you get here?”

Both girls just started at each other in shock for a few minutes before Hermione burst out laughing. Ginny was still confused and told the Head Girl exactly what was on her mind.

“Sorry, Ginny,” Hermione said, calming herself down, “I think I realized what just happened. Though I don’t know how it happened, I’ve never done anything like that. I didn’t even know I could…”

“Well, what happened?” Ginny cut Hermione’s rambling off.

“Well, Draco, Blaise and I discovered we can summon each other and we thought it was through our bond,” Hermione explained, still trying to work it out in her mind, “We can bring each other to out sides even if there are anti-aparation charms up. It seems this talent is not restricted to just the bonded!”

Ginny’s, which had begun as skeptical, had widened into a look of eager amazement, “That’s awesome, Hermione. But how did you pull me here if you didn’t know you could do it.”

“Oh,” Hermione said, taking a moment to let the anger she was feeling return to her, “I wanted to talk to someone sympathetic. You won’t believe what those two jerks of mates of mine have done!”

“Well tell me as we walk,” Ginny said, turning towards the door “I was looking for you anyway. Dumbledore sent me. Ron’s back.” Ginny watched her friend carefully and saw Hermione stiffen slightly before willing herself to relax again. After a moment Ginny continued, “Supposedly there are a bunch of Order members here too, Snape’s going to make a report and they want us there,” her voice was excited, but turned worried, “You don’t think You-Know-Who is going to attack soon do you?”

“I don’t know, Gin,” Hermione admitted as they walked down the stairs, before falling silent.

“You know,” Ginny commented, “For someone who ‘summoned’ me so they could talk to me you sure aren’t saying much now.”

Hermione shot her a look, “That’s because you keep cutting me off,” she whined jokingly, before launching into a rant about Blaise, Draco, and fertility potions.

“That’s horrible,” Ginny said as Hermione finished ranting, “Though I’m not surprised they did that, especially since you told them you wouldn’t fight if you got pregnant. They’re Slytherins for a reason you know and they seemed to be dead set on finding a way to keep you out of the fighting.”

“Sometimes I wonder if this, being stuck with them, is just some cruel joke fate is playing on me,” Hermione lamented, “I guess I understand where they are coming from, but I’m not fragile or particularly delicate, so I don’t know why they get so worked up about me doing things for myself.”

“They grew up in the high class Pureblood Society,” Ginny rolled her eyes, “Women in that circle are notorious for not lifting a finger to do anything for themselves. Most of those women don’t even want to take the time to raise their own children.”

“That’s terrible,” Hermione gasped, “I really am going to have to sit down and talk with those boys again. We still barely know each other; I think that’s the hardest part. Sometimes it feels like we have known each other forever though, but then something like this will happen and I will realize just how different we really are,” she sighed.

“Maybe you just need to give it a bit more time, ‘Mione,” Ginny recommended, “No one ever said this was going to be easy, and I doubt it’s easy for them either.”

“I just wish this war was over and that we didn’t have to worry about fighting, or power struggles or blood purity, and we could just live without fear.”

“You’re preaching to the choir,” Ginny mused as they turned the last corner and came face to face with the entrance to the Headmaster’s office. Ginny gave the password and went to step on to the rotating staircase when she realized that Hermione had made no effort to move. “You coming?” Ginny asked.

Hermione gulped and nodded, taking a tentative step forward. There was no sense in prolonging the inevitable.

When they entered the room everyone was quietly muttering to each other. Dumbledore sat at his desk, McGonagall standing beside him on his right whispering urgently to the Arthur, Molly, Bill and Fleur Weasley, Harry, who was standing by Lupin, Shaklebot, Tonks and a few other aurors, gave Hermione an encouraging smile as she entered the room, Snape was brooding by the window and kept shooting looks at Draco and Blaise who were sitting in the corner eyeing everyone suspiciously. Ron was no where to be seen.

Blaise beckoned for Hermione to join him and Draco but she ignored the command.

A voice from behind Hermione startled her and compelled the rest of the room to silence.

“Hermione…” Ron said, quietly with an almost desperate note to his voice. Hermione whirled around to face him. Ginny stayed a few steps behind Hermione.

“Hermione, I’m so sorry,” he beseeched her; “I know you may never be able to forgive me, and if I could take it back I would. I’m just so, so sorry.” Ron hung his head, afraid to see the rejection he feared and expected in his friend’s eyes. Hermione stood still watching him for a moment. Hermione and Ginny shared a look and the redhead retreated to Harry’s side.

“I’m not going to lie and say everything is alright and we can go back to normal,” Hermione said. Ron’s shoulders drooped a little further, “But you weren’t in your right state of mind. I believe your apologies, Ron, and I want to be able to trust you again. We’ve been friends for so long.” Ron’s head rose and he gave Hermione the most heartfelt thankful smile that had ever graced the redhead’s face. He looked about ready to sweep the curly haired witch up in his arms when the sound of a growl coming from the corner of the room stopped him. Ron looked around confused and noticed Blaise and Draco there for the first time. He stepped in front of Hermione and the Veela instinctively rose at the non-verbal challenge.

“What are they doing here?” Ron spat.

Hermione sighed and stepped around Ron and over to Blaise and Draco. Draco latched on to the girl possessively while Blaise stepped in front of them protectively. Ron’s jaw was hanging open.

“Hermione?” he squeaked. Hermione pulled out of Draco’s clutches with a little effort and moved to stand beside Blaise, slipping her hand into his to calm him down and show Ron their relationship.

“A lot has happened since you left, Ron,” she smiled weakly.

“Apparently,” Ron barked, his eyes cold.

“Listen Weasel,” Blaise cut in, “She had about as much choice in this as we did. Malfoy and I are Veela, Hermione is our mate,” he stressed the word ‘our’ and pulled Hermione closer, slipping his arm around her.

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed once again, “They’re part of the order now as well.”

Ron was floored. He stared at Draco and Blaise as if he expected them to suddenly dissolve into someone else and then jump up and cajole “Ha ha! Jokes! Fooled you!” When they didn’t he glanced around the room and saw that all eyes were on him. His eyes lingered on his brother, Bill and his new wife Fleur, a quarter Veela. Ron sighed; his brother had once explained the importance of the Veela bonding so if this was no joke Hermione’s life was as much at stake as the slimy Slytherin’s. He also knew that triads were uncommon, though not unheard of. His eyes returned to Hermione who was watching him apprehensively, gently biting her bottom lip.

“I always thought we’d end up together, ‘Mione,” Ron grieved, shooting a look at the sneering Slytherin’s, “But I’m wrong about a lot of things, and I was wrong about that. They better treat you like a queen. It’s what you deserve.”

Hermione’s eyes were brimming with joyful tears. Her biggest fear concerning Ron’s return was that despite her forgiveness of him he wouldn’t accept the twist of fate that had changed her life.

“Thank you Ron,” Hermione said in a hushed voice, trying to cover up the raw emotion. Ron smiled at her and went to stand with Harry

“Well, if this touching reunion is over,” Snape sneered, “We have some important business to attend to.”

“Yes,” Dumbledore spoke up, “For those of you who are unaware of why I have called this meeting on such short notice, Severus has just returned from a Death Eater meeting with some very disturbing information.”

“Thank you, Albus, but I will take it from here,” Snape bit, obviously unhappy about the news he was about to convey and didn’t want to draw out the experience, “The Dark Lord is very angry and has offered a reward for whomever can bring him Draco Malfoy alive.” He paused to let the words sink in. Hermione gasped and Draco nearly went translucent, “There is a plan to ambush him on the final Hogsmead weekend before the holidays. The Dark Lord wants him to atone for his father’s failures and for his own.”

Blaise leaned over to his blonde companion and whispered roughly into his ear, “You’re not leaving this castle alone from now on, not even for Quiddich.” Draco looked at him, his eyes wide from fear and nodded demurely. Unlike Hermione, Draco was willing to do whatever Blaise told him when it concerned his safety, he was no brash Gryffindor.

Snape continued his report, “The Dark Lord has also become aware of Mr. Malfoy’s relationship with Ms. Granger and Mr. Zabini, as well the nature of that relationship and he is very interested in controlling it. There are students within the school that are not to be trusted,” Snape warned, “I have already provided Albus with a list of names and I believe Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Zabini know who they should be avoiding.”

“If they fail at Christmas,” Hermione piped in after sharing a significant look with Ginny, “They will just try again. I think we may be able to make this work to our advantage though.” Everyone looked at Hermione, clearly shocked.

“I believe you’re going to have to elaborate further, Miss Granger,” Dumbledore prompted.

“Well Professor,” Hermione addressed the Headmaster directly, ignoring the curious glances of the rest of the room and the urgent whispers of her mates demanding to know what she was talking about, “As you know, Blaise, Draco and I can summon each other through our developed magic from our bond. I discovered today that that summoning isn’t restricted to our bond. We know Voldemort won’t kill us if he wants to take advantage of our bond and our magic, so if we let ourselves get captured and then summon the rest of the order we can surprise them with our own ambush right in the heart of their base of operations!”

The room filled with the protests of Harry, Ron, Draco, Blaise, the elder Weasleys and Professor McGonagall. Dumbledore silently observed the young witch who had not yet turned her attention from him.

When it became apparent that Hermione wasn’t going to answer their concerns the occupants of the room turned to Dumbledore to wait for his response.

“What you are proposing is extremely dangerous, Ms. Granger,” Dumbledore finally said, “There is also the factor that Harry may not be prepared to face Voldemort by Christmas, we cannot risk it.”

“Then we can set the trap for later when Harry is ready!” Hermione argued adamantly.

“I don’t know, Hermione,” Harry cut in, “We can’t put you at risk like that.”

“What other chance are we going to get to ambush them?” Hermione persisted.

“Ms. Granger does have a point,” Snape said quietly, ignoring the death glares sent towards him by Blaise, Draco, Harry and Ron, “If her theory is correct, and they can summon more than one person at a time if could give us a definite advantage. All we would need to do is find a spell that Potter is strong enough to perform that is powerful enough to rid us of the Dark Lord.”

“Ms. Granger, it is very generous of you to offer your services as well as your mates in this struggle,” Dumbledore was looking at a very agitated Blaise rather than the curly haired Gryffindor, “But I think you would need to discuss this with them before we proceed. If they agree we can plan a potential strike and if fate is on our side maybe we can end this war once and for all.”

Hermione glanced up at her mates who were standing on either side of her. Draco looked like he had been force fed sour milk and Blaise tense and contemplative.

“We’ll discuss it,” Blaise said curtly before signaling to Draco that they were leaving and applying pressure to Hermione’s lower back to guide her from the room.

“Very well,” Dumbledore nodded and watched the triad leave the room before turning back to the rest of the room, “We can all assume that Ms. Granger will have them agreeing to at least some sort of compromise so I believe we should start planning our move.”