The Lord The Lady and The Land

Chapter 4 Wet





Hermione opened her eyes to see that it was still gray and dreary outside, but

the rain seem to have stopped. She got dressed and went down to the kitchen for tea and toast.



She slept, but not very well. Hermione knew she wouldn’t. Things just kept

popping into her head and all she could think is, she had to do something she had to keep busy.



She ate her breakfast and put on her cloak and boots.



With a wand in hand, Hermione stepped outside to a cool and moist breeze.

She kept sinking into the ground so she did a drying spell on the ground as she walked.

She walked to the garden. Very little was left, just a few plants here and there.

Hermione dried out the ground. She feared that the flood may uncover her mother’s coffin, but there was no sign of it.

She looked to where Annie’s grave was; the roses were still there or rather the plant was still there, the flowers were washed completely away.



She walked into the field which resembled a swamp; drying as she walked.



Hermione made it over to where the stream was and saw a raging river instead.

It was over flowing and it was taking dirt and plants with it.

Two apple trees were already on their sides in the river, there was no way to save them.



The rainwater and the overflowing stream had eroded the soil away from the trees and it looked as if it was going to take another tree.

With much of its roots exposed, it was going to be washed away too.



Hermione dried the dirt around the tree and levitated a few big rocks to balance and secure the tree to it’s spot.

Then she moved some more soil in to cover it’s roots.



Hermione hoped her plan would work as she continued to survey the damage to the farm. Drying out the ground here

and there as she walked.



She went up river to see if she could possibly narrow the flow some how,

but there was still too much flooding.



Hermione felt discouraged, she wasn’t sure if she could put the farm right before winter came.

She watched the water go by, the rushing white foam and the different shades of water from clear to the brown and green.

She sat down feeling the wet soil under feet and the wind blowing against her face.



Winter would be here very soon. She sat there for hours just staring at the water, hoping the sun would come out to warm her.

Madame Pomfrey would be back, that day or the next, and Hermione was excited about the possibility of going to school.



Hermione walked back to the house to report that “We lost mature two apple trees in the flood.

I may have saved one that was starting to go, but it wouldn’t be until springtime before they would really know if it worked,” as she was walking thru the door and into the kitchen.



“Is that what took you so long?” Marie asked, taking the bread out of the fireplace.



Hermione took off her cloak and shook the water off of it and hung it next to the fireplace.



“That and I was thinking..” Hermione replied.



“Thinking about what?” her aunt queried.



“About school, where to go. There are the two in London and one in France; Madame Pomfrey was telling me about.” Hermione answered.



Hermione heard a loud cough and looked to see her father coming into the room.



“ She’ll be back today or tomorrow and I’ll talk to her some more about it.” Hermione added.



“ You won’t have time for school. You’ll be busy planning a wedding

and we need you here, come spring, for planting and seeding. Where is your mind at Hermione?” Her father asked.



“Dad. We can’t get married for a year. I can’t have children. I have to

do something with my life, not wait for something that may or may not happen.”



“ He asked you to marry him and you accepted. You still have the ring?

The engagement is still on.” Her father said, “ Therefore school is out of the question.”



Hermione could feel herself getting angrier and angrier,

“ That’s what you think.” she mumbled under her breath.



She stormed upstairs, pounding on each step as she went.



In a few days it would be her birthday. She’d be legal adult, a woman who

could lead her own life. She just had to find a way to afford school and that shouldn’t be that hard. Harry offered to do it.



“Hermione, time for dinner!” Marie called from the kitchen.



“I’m not hungry,” Hermione replied.

“Well come down any way, you have company,” she continued.



Hermione heard Harry’s voice in the kitchen and immediately felt lighter and her frustrations seemed to fade.



She entered the kitchen as Marie was setting the table, in their small formal dining room.



“Why are we eating in here?” Hermione asked,” It’s not a holiday is it?”



Marie had a shocked look on her face and said,

“ Our Lord and your betrothed is here for dinner, of course we are eating

in the formal dining room.” Marie whispered.



Marie then proceeded to straighten out Hermione’s skirts and chemise.

Hermione jumped in surprise and fixed her attire, pushing her aunts busy hands away.

Marie pinched Hermione’s cheeks and smoothed down some of her curls. Again Hermione nudged her aunt’s hands away, getting agitated with her.



“What are you doing to me?” Hermione asked.



“Making you look presentable.” Marie snapped.



“ He’s seen me covered in mud and cherries, soaked to the bone and completely naked. If he wanted me dressed for the dinner, he would have asked or sent something to me.” Hermione snapped back at her.



Harry came into the dining room smiling and bowed to the women as they curtsied.

“Harry I didn’t know you were coming for dinner.” Hermione commented.



“It was last minute decision. I was in the tavern with Sirius and Remus. They ran in to some old friends and . . .” Harry stepped closer to her,

“I came here to see you.”



“Dinners ready,” Marie announced.



Hermione’s father talked about what plants they should try to grow in the spring and some fruit he found in Australia. The damage the rain caused and how Hermione fixed it. What fields they were going to use and which fields they were going to rest.



Hermione tried to lead the conversation in to her going to school, but her father

and Harry were too involved in the fruits and vegetable discussion to notice.

‘What produce was more profitable to sell in the summer and fall. Which ships to put them on and where to send them? The village may need a bigger dock.’



Hermione ate her dinner and wished that Madame Pomfrey would contact her.



After dinner Harry suggested they go for a walk, to have a look at the trees.

The ground was still soggy as it drizzeled slowly through the fog.

Hermione had her wand out, drying the ground as they walked.



It was dark, grey and gloomy in the fields. As Harry and Hermione walked, she felt distressed again and

her heart was pounding her chest.



Harry’s arm kept grazing hers as they wandered, which annoyed her so she stepped away from him.

His hand caught hold of her wrist, but she yanked it away,

“ What are you doing?” she snapped.



Harry stepped back for moment, surprised at her reaction,

“ I just wanted to hold your hand. What’s wrong? You were jumpy with

your aunt, and now with me.”



“ I just don’t want to be touched right now.” Hermione spat out. She turned

and continued t walk toward the river.



Harry fingers grasped her arm and spun her around to face him. His hands were holding her shoulders.



~~~~~~~~~



Suddenly Hermione was back at the Malfoy estate and Draco was holding her by shoulders.



The next moment, Draco was strangling her and saying,

“Listen to me, bitch. I am your husband. Your Master. Your Lord. Your God. If you are still alive tomorrow, it’s because I made it so.

I can kill you now and no one will stop me and no one is going to help you.

Not your father or your aunt or your precious Lord Harry Potter.

They’ve abandoned you.” Hermione heard Draco laughing,

“ They haven’t even tried to come and see you. ” shaking Hermione,

“Have they?”



She answered with a meek,

“No.”

~~~~~~~~~



Hermione was outside again it was dark and she was on the ground.

Harry was beside her, a horrified expression on his face.

“What happened?” he asked, “ Are you having visions again?”



“ No, just the memories coming back.”



“What memories?”



“The memory you saw in the vial. A nightmare.”



“Go on.” Harry said.



So she told him about the attack on her body by Draco, how the boys held her down as Draco raped her, front and back.

Posy was having sex with Draco her brother and transforming into a dog. That Draco, Goyle, Crabbe and Posy were going to

continue to torture her unless she got away. So she cut off her finger and escaped on a broom.



Hermione felt violated all over again. Tainted. Spoiled and empty.



Harry went to touch Hermione’s hand but she withdrew it.

“ Harry how can you want to touch me knowing all that.” she asked.



“Because I love you. Look you didn’t ask for that to happen, you lived through it. It’s history, there’s nothing you can do about it. Just move on.

You’re strong, you can't let this take hold of you, you hold on and let it fade.”

Harry said.



“ I’m trying but Draco still comes into my thoughts and ruins things for me. The man’s dead, but he’s still here. He lingers like death. He’s killed our son and he’s killed a part of me … and I won’t be able to heal it or grow it back.” and Hermione began to cry.



************





Harry helped Hermione back to the house.

There was a note on the door,



Gone to neighbors, cow is having calf.



Harry carried her into the house, set her down in the kitchen and gave her a glass of brandy, and she sipped it slowly.



He helped her out of the chair and up the stairs to her room.

Harry gently undressed her and put her into her bed.



Hermione looked up at him and asked,

“ Did you even try to come and see me at the Malfoy estate?”



“ No. I didn’t. Do you think they would have allowed me in?” Harry asked.



“ Draco said you never even tried to come and see me. That everyone abandoned me. Not my father, my aunt and not even you.”

Hermione told him.



“ I’m sure it felt that way. But I would never abandon you. May I lie next to you? Harry asked.



She didn’t want to be touched but she didn’t want to be alone either,

“ Yes.”



Harry took off his clothes and climbed into her bed, barely putting an arm around her. She asked him to remove his arm from around her body.

They fell asleep not touching each other.



Hermione woke a few hours later.

She couldn’t stand it anymore, the fingers and hands she felt that night wouldn’t leave her.

They replayed the pain

and humiliation of being abused like a play thing.



Hermione got out of bed not knowing what to do, she put on her robe and went down stairs.

She went out the door with her wand in hand as a light.

She walked and walked in the dark. Something was calling her or urging her somewhere.

She heard the rushing water of the river.



The clouds in the night sky parted to reveal a half moon. Hermione watch the moon’s reflection in the dark water.

The water moved gracefully. It was dark and silvery with the moonlight.

She stared at it for a while. Everything felt as though it was flowing too.

She sensed something calling to her, beckoning to her but she heard no voice, she just saw the water.



Hermione looked into the dark water, she felt the wind on her face and the world moved.

Suddenly she couldn’t breath or see but heard rushing crushing sound. Her whole body froze.

Hermione’s body slowly sank to the bottom of the river. She didn’t try to swim or struggle to get to the surface.

She closed her eyes just slipping downward in the cold silent world.



Her feet got tangled in roots and weeds. She felt them pulling her this way and that.

She was shivering, freezing and couldn’t move. Hermione could feel the weeds moving and before she knew it, she was at the surface again.

Her wand sparked as she said “Relashio,” heating up the water and swam to a shallower edge of the river.





She looked at the river flowing around her. She removed her robe and the nightdress and pointed her wand up river. She was naked in the river with hot water rushing by her. Hermione submerged herself in the boiling water. The water tingled and started to burn her skin. She stayed under as long as she could.

The sensations of Draco, Crabbe and Goyle’s hands and fingers were being melted off or burnt off of her body.



Something told her to just let go of her thoughts feeling memories and she started to cry. The tears ran down her cheeks into the river. Soon she was laughing with a deep sense of relief and then she was exhausted and leaned against the fallen apple tree.

Her wand was still shooting out sparks and making the river hot, very hot.

Hermione began to dose off while resting on the tree. Her sparks faded and the water once again turned cold.



She heard a splash and sensed someone picking her up. She could barely open her eyes but she knew it was Harry. The warmth of his body warmed hers as he carried her out of the water and covered her with a cloak.



Hermione felt drops of water on her chin and heard him gasping for air.

She glanced up at Harry and in the dawn’s light saw tears streaming downs his face.



“Harry what’s wrongggg…” Hermione asked. Harry lost his balance and Hermione’s feet hit the ground and fell forward. He yelped in surprise and shock and fell back. Harry stared at her in horror, as they both laid on the ground. Again she asked him,

“Harry what’s wrong?”



“ You ..you’re dead. You fell in to the river, I saw you. I searched and searched for you.”

Harry crawled over to her, “You went under the water. I couldn’t find you.”



Harry looked as if he was seeing a ghost, shaking on the ground.

Hermione more awake now, having been bounced, rather rudely on the ground said.

“No Harry, I’m alive.”



He reached out and touched her, “You’re cold!”



“ Wet and naked too” she pointed out to him. Help me back to the house?” she asked.



Harry got to his feet and putting his cloak on Hermione and his arm around her shoulders.

“I thought you were dead. I mean really dead.” Harry confided in her.

“ Maybe I did die and now I’ve come back.” She told him.

They got back to the house, in time to see the sunrise.



Harry put Hermione to bed and lay down next to her. Both naked. She had her eyes closed but could feel his eyes staring at her.

She turned laying on her side, put his arm around her waist and wiggled her bottom in to his hips, her back against his chest saying,

“ I’m still cold Harry, keep me warm please she plead in an innocent tone.

Harry got another blanket and put it on the bed and threw another log in the fireplace

and then slid back in to bed. Hermione’s cold hand grabbed Harry’s and pulled his arm around her.



Their two bodies snuggled together, for warmth and comfort, before falling asleep.