Accidental Magic

Thanks Ayden for betaing.

My gift recipients have now seen the posting so I shall slowly post more chapters every couple of days. Your patience is appreciated.

Thank you everyone for your kind reviews and support. The previous chapter was meant to be short and sweet, a set up really. This one offers a bit more insight. Just so you know, the chapters in this story are not long. This was an exercise and challenge to see if I could write a multi-fic in a certain number of words.

I hope you enjoy! :-)

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Tossing her quill onto her desk, Hermione allowed her mind wander to the one topic she never discussed, thought about and barely acknowledged. Her husband.

She snorted. What a travesty of a description. Draco fucking bastard Malfoy was hardly her husband.

Since they had been matched fourteen months ago, he all but disappeared. Hermione recalled her fear about the Marriage Law. All single wizards and witches between the ages of seventeen and sixty were to report to the Ministry to have their wands re-registered and some of their magic extracted. The process had taken nearly three months but upon completion, all the magic and information was stored. Using a modified ancient spell, each magical signature and wand was matched to find a spouse.

It was an effort to rebuild the magical community after the toll of the second war, now nearly five years gone. Additionally, the modified spell ensured all blood classes were mixed, in an effort to prevent future prejudice. It was their goal to have one type of blood – magical.

Hermione had been horrified to learn who she’d been matched. Resigned to her fate rather than have her wand snapped, she waited for days for some word from the prick. Finally, after nearly a week, she had owled him.

The reply she received was unexpected. Lucius Malfoy sent his apologies and asked for a meeting. Agreeing, she had been surprised to find the prat was not in attendance. Instead, his parents greeted her with somber expressions and explained he was away on an extended business trip but asked them to offer their hand in friendship, in light of the new law, and welcome her into their family.

Mustering her inner Gryffindor, Hermione stiffly accepted and moved forward with the engagement. During the following four months, Hermione introduced her parents to the Malfoys, planned a wedding, moved into Malfoy Manor, struggled to win over her future in-laws, befriended the tow-headed twerp’s mates and awaited word from her fiancé.

It never came.

Her wedding day dawned. It was to be an intimate affair with only the closest friends and family. What should have been the most beautiful day of her life turned out to be a nightmare.

Everyone assured her that he would be there. He wouldn’t dare miss his own wedding. It just wasn’t the Malfoy way.

Indeed.

She had refused to leave her suite until there was confirmation the groom had arrived. When the knock came, she rushed out, inexplicably happy. Her father walked her down the aisle towards the figure waiting for her and in her silly bridal stupor, failed to notice the whispers and averted faces of the guests. No, she was too caught up in her fairy tale.

Arriving by his side, she smiled and gazed up into the face of . . . THEO NOTT????

Embarrassed, Theo explained that he’d received an urgent owl from the git asking that he stand in for him at the wedding. Furious didn’t begin to cover Hermione’s emotions. She didn’t know whether to cry, scream or hex someone. In her blind rage, she had her first resurgence of accidental magic, wilting every flower in the Malfoy Gardens.

So, Draco Malfoy married Hermione Granger by proxy. BY FUCKING PROXY! It was humiliating, to say the least.

After two months of non-blissful nuptials, she realized the coward would not be showing up –certainly not in the near future. That’s when she threw herself into her work and hadn’t looked back since. Still, not all had been terrible, the berk’s absence and abhorrent behavior had managed to bring Hermione and the Malfoys closer. Though awkward at first, the forced time to spend together had chipped away at walls until all parties had come to a truce. Eventually, a form of friendship blossomed leading to revealing a side of Narcissa and Lucius, Hermione wouldn’t have ever expected. Now, they treated her like the daughter they never had.

They didn’t discuss the subject of their son’s behaviour or where he could possibly have gone. She knew the stupid sack of Diricawl dung would withdraw small amounts of galleons from his private vaults at Gringotts, but that was all. She also knew the sniveling arse would owl his mother small notes to ease her worry.

Of course, he never wrote to her.

Now, nearly a year into her marriage, Hermione was planning on appealing to the Wizengamot for an annulment. After all, they couldn’t expect her to remain married to a ghost? Not to mention the fact that every thought of him caused more damage to the Manor. In the last year, it’d been redone top to bottom. She just couldn’t continue this way.

Her heart felt heavy. She loved Narcissa and deeply respected Lucius. Both begged her to not pursue this course of action but she was resolute in her decision. She was still young and could be matched to someone who would want her.

And that is what stung the most. Draco Malfoy didn’t want her. She had fancied him a bit a year or so after the war because he seemed so different. Truthfully, she was just a teeny bit pleased to find they were matched.

But that was before he insulted and infuriated her by deciding to not be physically present for their wedding. Her wedding. Her fairytale bloody wedding . . . ruined . . .

Clenching and unclenching her fists, she gritted her teeth in anger. FUCKING, SODDING, PRICK, BASTARD . . . her office began to shake.

She took several deep calming yoga breaths.

Granted, she wasn’t model gorgeous but she was pretty enough. Wasn’t she? Of course she was. Blaise, Theo and Adrian never tired of complimenting her. And then there was that new American wizard working with Harry, Troy Davis. He was very handsome and she’d caught him staring at her more than once.

Squaring her shoulders, she nodded her head and went back to work. Perhaps, she’d invite Troy to lunch. In the name of international unity, of course.

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