Lord of the Land

Chapter 19

Hermione was lying down thinking what she had seen in her dreams or visions. What she saw scared her. She wondered if they were going to come true. She remembered the auction block and her hand being scratch by the blade. Should she warn Harry or was she just overreacting. How do you tell somebody they are go to be hanged? She was just dosing off when Draco came to retrieve her.

They were saying good-bye to Luna and her father when Hermione saw Harry talking to Viktor Krum.

Harry came over, as they were about to go out the door,
“Mrs. Malfoy. You look lovely as ever.” He kissed her hand in a respectable fashion as Draco looked on and Hermione curtsied.

Viktor came up next to Harry,
“Draco this is your wife?”

“Yes, this is Hermione,” Draco said smiling ear to ear thrilled that Viktor remembered his name.

Viktor held out is hand to shake Hermione’s hand, she thought, but he brought it to his lips as he bowed low, looked into her eyes, and kissed her hand.

Viktor stood up straight and tall with his chest out a bit,
“I hope I have the pleasure of seeing you at the quidditch game. Draco you are bringing this beautiful...” Viktor breathed in deeply staring at Hermione, “woman to the match. Are you not?”

Hermione blushed.

Draco took hold of Hermione’s hand and wrapped it around his arm.
Turning to her and patting her hand,
“Of course she’ll be there. Won’t you my dear?”

Hermione nodded, “Yes, I’ll come and watch the match.”

She looked at Harry whose eyes had a true green-eyed monster in them. Looking at Viktor, Draco and then Hermione he tried to cover his jealously.

Viktor turned toward Harry but spoke to Hermione,
“Perhaps you help us convince his Lordship to play a game or two as well.”

“Are you going to be playing my Lord?” Hermione asked.

“I think I would rather sit and watch the match with you where it’s safe. I’ve seen Viktor ride his broom. He’s brilliant. He’d knock me off my broom in a minute,” Harry confessed.

The jealous look in his eyes faded as Hermione smiled at him,
“You’d sit and watch the match with me my Lord?” Hermione posed.
Knowing all men loved playing and this was something special, unheard of.

“Let him sit with the women while the real men play,” Draco commented.

“I think his lordship has the right idea,” Viktor said, “but I need to play, feel the wind in my face and..”

Hermione didn’t hear the rest of Viktor’s speech. She looked into Harry eyes and knew he would rather be with her then play the game.
She gave him a smile silently saying ‘thank you’ without anyone noticing and he smiled back.

~~~~~~

The game was to be in two weeks, just few days just before the tribute.

Draco couldn’t wait to play with Viktor Krum.
He and his friends practiced every day as well as drinking and getting rowdy making trouble in the village and scaring the servants.

This gave Hermione a chance to go home.
She noticed on her ride to her farm that the other farms in the area were drying up and people were trying to gather the harvest as fast as possible.
Many crops failed, withered, or produced very little food.

Her farm still had water running through it even though the water level had gone down.
Hermione knew that she would have to gather the crop herself within a week or so and in her condition she was not looking forward to it.

She was going to have to pick the crop early meaning she would not get a great price for them in the market.

Hermione started to clear out the old green house and cellars for the storage of the crops.

She stepped outside to rest and looked at her fields of grain, her orchards, and her gardens and started to cry. There was too much to do for just one person.

There wasn’t enough time in the day to pick all of it. Even with magic she would need help.

Hermione was heading to the house to get a drink of tea when she caught sight of four children walking through her field. She swiftly walked toward them as they neared the gate.
“What are you doing in my field?” Hermione asked.

“Sorry, just taking a short cut Miss. Please don’t be angry with us. We were just been trying to fish. That pond is all the water around here now. We just want to catch something to eat. We’re trying not to eat all the chickens at home,” said the tallest child.
Hermione looked at the children, they weren’t skin and bone yet but on their way.
She saw their makeshift rod with a broken line and no fish.

“Do you want to pick some crops for me you can keep some if you like?” Hermione suggested.

The kids looked at each other and nodded,
“Sure Miss, when?”

“Let’s start tomorrow. What time do you think you can come?” She asked.

“Early morning. We’ve already harvested our crops. There wasn’t much there. They all dried up.” said a little one looking worried.

“Alright, see you then.” Hermione said.

She gathered as many baskets as possible that afternoon. She had to drag herself back to the Malfoy estate.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


The next morning she met the children in front of the house.
She fed them breakfast since they were there early waiting for her.

They all took a basket and started to pick from the fields carrots, pumpkins, beans, peas, onions, and cabbage.

The youngest, Samuel, wanted to go home as he was feeling sick and looked it. The tallest boy, John, took him home and was back within a half hour with a friend, Tom, to take Samuel’s place.

Tom could only stay an hour but promised to send a replacement very soon.

Four more boys showed up to help with the harvest.

A mother and daughter showed up to help as well and started picking spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower.


By noon there were five more families picking the crops.

Hermione thought to herself as she saw more and more people coming to her farm with their own baskets ‘Tom must have alerted the whole village.’

It was late afternoon when many of the families set down the baskets of vegetables.

Hermione’s fruit and vegetable cellar had her own baskets in them from the morning harvest as she had them put half of the baskets in the green house and barn trying to leave room for the grains and fruits yet to be picked.

The rest she gave back to the pickers having nowhere to store them. Hermione suggested that they trade produce with each other.


As people were leaving they asked if she was going to be needing them again in the morning for the wheat oats and barley.

She told them to come back the next morning if they could and thanked them.

~~~~

Hermione greeted the returning pickers and saw more people come to harvest the grains like wheat and barley, and the tall grass and alfalfa for the animals.
The men cut it down, the children tied it up and put the bundles into the cart to separate grain and put them out to dry.

At the end of the day Hermione looked out at her fields and saw them all bare, picked clean and sigh with relief,
“None of it will go to waste,” looking at villagers.

Again she took her share of the crop and saw to it that all the pickers got a portion of it as well. Thanking them as they left, noticing that they called each other by first name something they hadn’t done in years. She felt satisfied she was getting to know her community again, so many were gone now. She looked at her mother grave thinking ‘Mum would have love this. People helping each other.’ and for moment she could smell honey suckle.

They returned the next day to work on the orchards.
There were baskets and basket of apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums, and assorted berries.

The children picked the berries.
The adults picked the fruit in the trees.

Hermione underestimated the amount she had.
She filled the green house and barn with fruit and vegetables and the cellars with the fruits.

A few people helped her divvy up the fruit as the harvest was taking a toll on her in her condition.

The pickers were sprawled out all over the front yard and some in the fields waiting very patiently for their share of the fruit.

Hermione’s neighbor came over to give her a letter she found on the stoop. It was from her aunt.
The woman also informed Hermione that they had cheese for her in the cheese cellar.
Hermione thanked her and sat down on the large rock to open the letter.

Dear Hermione,

I have found your father and am nursing him back to health, but it is a slow process. It seemed that he was poisoned and nearly died.
I believe Draco Malfoy put Crabbe and Goyle up to it. I heard Richard talking to them about it. Richard always wanted his own farm. He was never really happy at our farm. He thought marrying me would get him more land but all that happen is that his land became barren, over worked and then taken from him by Malfoys. I do believe that they are blood relatives, third or fourth cousins to Richard.
He was not muggle, but squib, an embarrassing thing for a pureblood family.
I will try to get your father home as soon as I am able.
He will protest the marriage as long the judge feels it is invalid.
I heard about Richard’s passing and thank you for taking care of it.
I will be alone now but not lonely with you and your father by my side.
Your father sends his love and prayers.
I can’t wait to see you again and make up for this terrible thing I’ve done to you.
Take care,
love
Aunt Marie.


Tears were streaming down Hermione’s cheeks. She hadn’t realized that she had been holding her breath while reading the letter.
She let out a huge sigh and began to weep aloud.

A woman came over to see if she was alright.
Hermione calmed herself down a bit and said,
“It’s a letter with good news. I’m just relieved my dad will be coming home soon.” fighting back the tears.

She folded up the letter and was putting it in her pocket when a handkerchief was poised at her cheek,
“Could you use this?” a familiar voice asked softly.

She looked up into a pair of green eyes behind a pair of glasses.

Hermione was so happy to see him that she jumped up and threw her arms around him.

It took a moment for Hermione to realize what she had done in front of most of the villagers. As Harry’s arms had stayed by his side.
She released her hold on him quickly. Her eyes widen with the mistake she had done. She grabbed her skirts and curtsied bowing her head whispering,
“I’m sorry my Lord. Please forgive me.”
She looked around and saw everyone was watching at her.

She looked up at Harry who also noticed that everyone was staring at her or both of them.

Feeling foolish Hermione drop her head down and closed her eyes
“I wasn’t thinking my Lord,” she breathed out.

Harry hands lightly fell onto her shoulders stroking up her neck to her jaw line prompting her to look at him.
He looked deep into her eyes softly touching her cheek with his thumb. His lips took hers in a passionate kiss.
Hermione hands grasped Harry’s wrists as he stood there kissing her.

Hermione peeked around at the crowd surrounding them as their kiss broke. Many people wore smiles on their faces, some laughed but none looked surprised.

Harry pulled her through the mob into the house closing the door behind them.
“What did the letter say?” he asked.
Hermione showed him the letter.
“Is this your aunt’s hand writing?” Harry posed looking at the letter.

“Yes it’s her handwriting.” Hermione said, “ Why?”

“I’m sure Draco knows your father isn’t dead, and may send someone else to kill him. Remus is staying with your aunt and father. She is not to write to you directly seeing that Draco could find your father very easily that way. She sent that letter here and she wasn’t supposed to.”

Hermione felt a spinning sensation again in her belly and put her hands to see if she could feel anymore,

“How am I to get them?” Hermione asked.

“Hermione are you feeling alright?” Harry asked her.
“Yes. I just feel a spinning or fluttering in my belly,” smiling at him.

A grin grow on Harry’s face,
“May I feel it?” reaching his hand out toward her torso.

“Yes.” Hermione answered pulling his hand to her belly.

He touched her ever-growing tummy but felt no movement.

“Wait a month or so then you’ll be able to felt something,” she said, but then added with a worried expression on her face,
“Have you looked for a wet nurse?”

“Hermione.” Harry said softly, “ You’ll be out of there in two weeks time. The ring is being made and the Malfoys don’t have enough gold. Please be patient my love.”
His arms were around her waist and his lips on her forehead moving down her nose to her mouth.

There was a knock at the door that interrupted their kiss.

Hermione opened the door.

A young man stood there, he pulled off his hat and asked,
“Excuse me Hermione but will you be needing us to help you with the little garden there,” Pointing at the herb garden.

“The herb garden? No I want to keep them there until I need them. But thank you for asking,” she said.

The young man nodded, turned and shook his head while walking toward a group of people she assumed were his family.

A group of women came to the door and asked,
“Hermione do you have a good recipe for apple and pear preserves?” a young woman asked.

Hermione let out a happy sigh and smiled,
“Yes, I have a few.”

The women looked at each other and smiled and all started talking all at once how that ‘they would be coming over to try the recipes with her tomorrow.’
She nodded, “Yes, please and bring any recipes you have.”


Many of the villagers were loading up their fruits and all said good-bye and thanked Hermione. Some shook her hand saying,
“You’re just like your mum, an angel.”

Harry came up behind her as she was watching the last of the villagers go.

“Tea?” he asked.

“Yes. That would be lovely,” she said with a sigh.