Just Around the Riverbend

Hmm. I must say this took way longer than I planned. But I'll tell you why: I was supposed to be off Tuesday, Wednsday, and Saturday, but I was called into work because I work with a bunch of lazy, stupid dumb fucks who get a sniffle and run home. I must say that I cannot abide by people like that. Just last Christmas I had to adjust my hours to go to the doctor with acute bronchitis (The doc wanted to call it pneumonia, but I didn't have health insurance and the other thing was cheaper to treat) and I still went to work. These....people get a runny nose and run home crying. It's pathetic, really.

*Huff* Anyway, now that you've ignored my totally crazed rant, I have one word: Transition chapter. *Counts on finger* Okay...maybe two words. Anyway, thanks to all me peeps who reviewed last chapter:

LightoftheValar
Voracious Reader
lilashannah
forsaken_dream
angeles
Hermione_Malfoy
HaryGinny4Eva
alina290
Anathema - Hmm...mysteries, mysteries...what could it be?
margaritama - Are you....hinting at something? It's like you're trying to tell me something...
Herves Vuin - Oh my god. You were the only one who saw that. It was based on that. *Squee* My Disney reference was noticed...

Okay everyone. SOrry it took so long. I would have gotten it up faster if I didn't work with a bunch of tards. I hope you enjoy what I did get up.

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Phelan opened his eyes wearily, blinking at the bright white of the ceiling that greeted him. White ceilings? Who the hell had white ceilings? The ceiling in the garden hut was brown. Even the Manor had creamy beige and other colors. So where- oh….oh yeah…

The events of the previous night hit him hard, and he sat upright, grunting when he pulled at the mostly-healed stab wound on his back. His left arm was in clean white bandages, and his face had been cleaned and was a bit itchy from the antibiotic ointment someone had smeared across the claw-wounds his father had inflicted.

“Ah…I see you’re awake…”

Phelan looked over to see Kingsley Shacklebolt sitting in a chair in the corner. The room was clean and tidy, and smelled slightly like disinfectant.

“Where am I?” Phelan asked.

“St. Mungos.” Kingsley said.

“Daisy?”

“She’s in a different wing.”

“I want to see her.” Phelan answered, pushing back his covers.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea…” Kingsley said softly. Phelan looked up, his yellow eyes piercing.

“Why?”

Kingsley studied the young man before him. This boy had gone claw to claw with one of the most feared werewolves in all of Europe, and had come out with only a few gashes on him. He had openly declared emotional attachment to the distant cousin of Lucius Malfoy. He could control the werewolf form.

“Because I need to talk to you first.” Kingsley replied, leaning forward in his chair.

“You’re the Minister of Magic…why do you need to talk to me?” Phelan asked, his grey brows rising.

“When were you turned?” Well...he was getting right into it, wasn't he?

“I wasn’t.”

“You are clearly a werewolf…when were you turned?”

“I wasn’t turned…I was Born.” Phelan finished, starting to absently pick at his hospital gown. This conversation could never be good. There was a reason there weren’t many Lycans like him. Female werewolves were almost immediately sterilized, and if it was discovered they were pregnant, the child was aborted- forcefully. According to the stories he’d gathered from others, his father had hand-picked his mother, turned her, and when he had gotten her pregnant he kept her safe and sound until Phelan was born. After that he hadn’t had to worry about her- being dead sort of takes that responsibility away.

“How long have you been able to control your form like you did?” Kingsley continued.

“Since last full moon. My father and I got into a fight…and in the morning when the sun rose he changed back, but I didn’t.” Phelan replied. “I figured out later that I could control the wolf, and turn whenever I wanted to.”

“You were the werewolf in Diagon Alley that morning.” Kingsley said, realization on his face. He’d had one hell of a time coming up with an explanation for that…some of the Aurors thought the people were drunk, and those that had caught sight of him thought they themselves were hallucinating.

Phelan nodded. “So when’s it scheduled?” Phelan asked, lengthening and retracting the claws on one hand like a cat might if it were bored.

“When’s….what scheduled?” Kingsley asked, raising a dark eyebrow.

“My execution. I assume it’ll be public?” Kingsley sputtered in surprise.

“Execution? I should think not! You’re a hero, boy. I was just trying to find out a bit about you.” Kingsley was shocked that the boy would think he was to be executed. But then again…it wasn’t too far-fetched an idea when Fudge was in office. That bumbling bastard would have had the boy put to sleep while he was recovering from the wounds his father had inflicted.

“I want to see Daisy now…” Phelan said, swinging his bare legs over the side of the bed. There were some plain black slippers at the edge of the bed, and he slipped his feet into them.

“Ah…one more thing….I want you to look at your left hand and tell me what you see…” Kingsley interrupted, standing from his chair. Phelan blinked, but lifted his left hand. The clean white bandages looped between his fingers, covering his palm as well. But…what was that? There, on his ring finger…was a sparkling silver band.

“Looks like a ring. A silver ring….but it doesn’t burn.” Phelan said, and touched the band. It twisted and turned, but it didn’t budge up or down. “It also doesn’t come off. What is this?” Phelan asked.

“It’s a Bonding ring. When your father stabbed you in the back, Daisy was the one who tried to comfort you. She held your hand in hers. Unfortunately, both of you had open wounds on your hands. You were both actively bleeding. She mixed your blood, and then sealed it with a vow. She declared her love for you, and kissed you.” Kingsley said. “She bonded you by blood to one another.”

“Wait…isn’t that what some people do during wedding ceremonies?” Phelan asked. Kingsley nodded. “So…we’re…”

“Married in every way but by name. You’re completely bound to one another for eternity.” Kingsley finished, and then waited for Phelan’s reaction. Phelan opened his mouth to say something, but then quickly shut it. He finally took a deep breath.

“I bet Malfoy isn’t too happy about that…”

~~

That would have been the understatement of the millennia. Lucius Malfoy was absolutely rabid that Daisy had inadvertently bound herself to the Werewolf Prince, as he had started calling him- inside his own head, of course. Hermione seemed to think this whole thing was romantic. And she had said so, several times in fact.

The combining of their magic seemed to drain away Hermione’s energy, but not her appetite. She was at present sitting in the corner of Daisy’s room, doing her damn best to put a hole in his pocket from food consumption alone. She had gone through three plates of hospital food (Which admittedly weren’t full to the brim…), the last two he had had to pay for. She was now picking at her fourth.

Daisy was sitting quietly on the soft hospital bed, staring at her bandaged arms. She hadn’t really had time to process what had happened the night before. The Minister of Magic, that huge black guy from the previous evening, had come to her room personally to talk to her. He’d asked her about different things that had happened last night, but his last question was about what had happened after Fenrir had thrown the knife into Phelan’s back. He’d asked her to go into great detail about that…

She told him that she’d held Phelan’s hand in hers, and tried to keep him calm. When he’d spit up some blood, she had wiped it away and then kissed him. Minister Shacklebolt had then asked her if she said anything. She had blushed here, causing her cousin to get suspicious.

“I told him I loved him.” She’d said quietly. Her cousin had dropped the cup of water he was drinking, and it had spattered all over the floor. Then she’d been treated to a tirade of exactly what her actions had done. She had bound herself to Phelan. She had combined their blood and sealed it with a vow of love. They were married for all intents and purposes. The very magic in their bodies recognized them as man and wife.

It was irreversible. That was one reason Lucius was so upset. She was irrevocably bound to a werewolf. A very strong werewolf. Phelan could snap Daisy like a twig if he so chose.

“Cousin?” Daisy’s quiet voice pulled him out of his reverie, and he looked over at her. She looked so small on the bed. She was still so young. She needed someone to protect her.

“Yes?” he asked, trying not to be sharp with her.

“Do you hate me?” she asked, tears welling up in her eyes. She didn’t want him to hate her…she hadn’t meant to upset him, or make him angry.

“No. I don’t hate you, Daisy. But I’m extremely disappointed in your actions.” He replied. Daisy hastily retrieved a tissue from beside her bed, and wiped her eyes.

“I didn’t know…” she whimpered.

“Blood is a magical ingredient. It is a very potent magical ingredient. You never mix blood with blood. Didn’t your parents teach you that?” Lucius asked. Daisy looked as if he’d slapped her.

“They never got the chance. They kind of died!” she snapped, and then burst into tears. Hermione pushed aside her plate, and glared at Lucius as she went to Daisy’s side. Hermione sat down on the bed beside Daisy, and the blubbering teen immediately wrapped her arms around Hermione, burying her face into her shoulder. Hermione stroked her hair comfortingly.

Lucius frowned sharply. He stood where he was for a few moments, before turning and walking from the room. Apparently he wasn’t needed or wanted there at the moment. As he left the room, he saw Severus toting Cole down the hallway.

“Just the man I needed to see. There were stories all over the Prophet this morning. What happened?” Severus asked.

“Fenrir Greyback attacked the Ball looking for his errant son. The young werewolf fought him, and would have bested him if he’d carried through with it. I had to finish off the rabid beast. And in other news, Daisy managed to blood-bind herself to Phelan. I must say, this takes stupidity to a totally different level.” Lucius seethed.

Severus was quiet. Blood bonding? That wasn’t a very common practice. Most weddings in the Wizarding world were voidable as long as the reason was good enough. But not ones that had contained blood bonding. It was only for those completely dedicated to each other. It was irreversible.

Cole interrupted his reverie by wriggling in his grasp.

“Dow.” He said softly. He was starting to learn a few syllables now, much to Severus’ pleasure. He had no idea it could be so rewarding to teach his son to say ‘pee.’ Severus gently put Cole on the ground, and the little boy grasped his father’s cloak firmly. “Day.” He added, and pointed to the room Lucius had come out of.

Lucius was distracted from his anger by Cole’s words. He knew that the toddler had been so very shy when he’d first arrived. He was skittish at best, and Severus wondered if the lad had been abused. For all his gruff, Severus had a true soft spot for children that had been abused. And it appeared he had an even softer spot for his own son.

“Ah, yes. Cole and I brought a ‘get well’ gift for Daisy.” Severus said, reaching into one of his numerous pockets and producing a small stuffed bear. Lucius snorted. He’d always known Severus kept a few tricks in those pockets. He could never be accused of being stupid…it was why he’d survived the Dark Lord’s final betrayal. Any Potions Master worth his salt always kept a bit of anti-venom and blood replenisher on him.

“I do believe it best if you deliver the gift yourself. I may have upset Daisy just before I left.” Lucius said, and leaned against the wall outside Daisy’s door. Severus raised a dark eyebrow, but said nothing as he walked slowly into the room, his son toddling alongside him. Lucius stood in silence for a few moments before Hermione walked from the room. She lifted his arm slightly, and situated herself close to his side, allowing his arm to drape back over her.

“Are you feeling better now that you’ve devoured half of the hospital’s rations?” Lucius asked softly. Hermione gave Lucius a weak punch to the side, and he grunted in response. There was silence for several long moments.

“What you said was very insensitive.” She finally said.

“I know. But I can’t help but feel angry about this. She should not be bound to that…beast.” Lucius growled.

“But she is. You cannot change that now. You can only give her your support. They might be all but married, but both of them are still underage. And he will need a legal guardian. Now…wherever he goes, she goes, and the law will support that, no matter what kind of blood relation she is to you. You can either accept him and her together, or you may very well lose her by shunning him.” Hermione said. Lucius looked down at her. He looked very tired, Hermione noticed, but he managed to give her a watered down smile.

“Well…when faced with that information, I suppose I’d better get used to the flea-ridden little mongrel.”

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Oooh...some deep shiz-nit going on in da hospital! Bound by blood? Sounds interesting. I wonder what Lucius might have to say to Phelan face-to-face? Well, we'll have to wait until next chappie, won't we? Yes, we will!

I might be inspired to update faster if I had lots of reviews to keep me all bubbly on the inside. Your reviews are like pissing my pants: everyone can see it, but only I can feel the warmth. Please review my luvlies!

And of course, the title is a rip-off, I mean....adaptation of the AMND quote

The course of true love never did run smooth.

So there. Suck on that for a while. ^_^