Merlin's Coven

Merlin’s Coven

Chapter Four

Hermione was crying into her pillow by the time Draco was brought back to The Room of Requirement. She rubbed her eyes as he laid his tired and beaten body down beside her. Hermione had been seen by Madame Pomfrey, and then released and then Draco too, had his turn in the hospital wing. Tonks had forced Hermione to rest, seeing that she was most definitely pregnant. Hermione turned to see Draco drop his shirt and climb into their bed.

“My god, what did they do to you?”

“It looks worse then it is. I can’t believe the weasel and his brothers came to my defense.”

“Ron is loyal to the bone. He must really be taking this coven seriously,” Hermione said grimly. She was still trying to process the idea of being pregnant, and the idea wasn’t finding her well. Hermione Granger, pregnant in her seventh year, was scandalous, and she knew it.

“Granger…don’t you have some news for me?” Draco rolled over on his elbow to face Hermione, and then he could see the streaks of tears staining her face. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain still? Is that what’s troubling you?” Hermione scooted closer to Draco and then sank into his chest. He held her comforting her, but worried as to what was happening to her.

“We are having a baby,” she said into his chest.

“That’s…yeah, well we already kind of knew that. Aren’t you happy?”

“Happy? Would you be happy to carry a baby in your seventh year of school? Because if you are, then maybe you should be the one to have this baby, because I’m scared!”

“Shhhh, I’m going to help you get through this,” Draco said stroking her head against him.

“I know I don’t know much about having babies, but am I really supposed to be showing this early?” Draco looked quizzically at Hermione now as she rolled on her back and pulled her shirt up. Draco’s eyes went wide. She definitely had a bump already. He leaned down and rubbed his hands over his baby, tenderly placing his lips to Hermione’s abdomen.

“There was magic involved Hermione. This isn’t going to be like other pregnancies.”

“Draco I’m scared.”

“I know. This is happening so fast. I mean, only a couple of weeks ago my biggest worry was Voldemort catching and torturing me to death. Now, I have a wife and a baby on the way. It’s a lot to get used to.” With that Hermione wailed even louder, the tears freefalling form her eyes. “Did I say something wrong? What is it?”

“You said wife. We aren’t even married, officially. I don’t want to have a bastard son.” Hermione sobbed. She wasn’t quite sure why she was sobbing but she thought it might have something to do with her hormones, and also the fact that she seemed to be having a baby in the half time normal witches did. She looked two or three months pregnant already.

“A son? I’m having a son?” Draco could feel his heart beating in his chest from Hermione’s slip of the tongue.

“Well technically, I am having a son but yeah, are you happy?”

“Am I happy? Yes, I’m happy. I always knew I’d have a boy. I don’t even care that he will be a half-blood.”

“What difference does one’s blood make?” Hermione fired back.

“I just said, it doesn’t. I’ll prove it to you too. Let’s get married. You don’t want to go through this pregnancy as an unwed witch. Marry me today.”

“Today? We can’t just get married today. You haven’t thought about something else…” Hermione felt tears welling behind her eyes again as she and Draco held each other tightly in their bedroom nook. “What happens when the spell wears off? Wizarding world marriages are for life.”

“You are having my baby Grang-Hermione. I think at least some of our lives have already been decided for us. You chose me. This isn’t all magic, is it?” Hermione thought about it. She had chosen him, this was true. But he didn’t chose her.

“Don’t you see Draco..you love me now. You hated me before all of this though. So say we have this baby…and say we do beat Voldemort. Then what?”

“Then we rejoice and make love under the full moon. I don’t Hermione, we have another kid I guess. Isn’t that what married couples do?”

“Another baby? I think you got your arse kicked and aren’t thinking sensibly.”

“I love you. I want to marry you. I want this baby to be mine, to carry my last name, and want you to have it too. It’s what is fated for us, I can feel it.”

“But what then, when the spell ends. We love each other because of a spell cast on us. I don’t know why I was picked and why I picked you.”

“Don’t you? For someone who has managed to beat me by the skin of her teeth in every class for the past six years you aren’t very bright, are you?” Draco smiled and ran his finger down Hermione’s cheek, wiping the tears away, before nibbling on her chin. Hermione let out a soft moan and then found his lips. His kiss was so deep and so tantalizing. She knew she could kiss Draco Malfoy for the rest of her life, it felt so right and so good, but it was just a spell.

“Okay Malfoy, just what are you feebly trying to say?” Hermione forced a smile and Draco once again ran his hand over their baby inside her.

“You’ve wanted me for six years.” Draco said with a straight face.

“Ha! Have not.”

“Have to. I’m the only wizard smart enough to be your mate and you know it. You got off on all the sexually charged banter that we have been carrying on with for years.”

“That’s ridiculous! Preposterous even!”

“Is it? Could you really marry Ron…a person who cheats off your paper? You know I would never do that, because I would be prone to believing that my answers were better then yours. You need that from a man.”

“You mean, I need a man who is stubborn and condescending, rude and abrasive?” Hermione stared into the pools of grey and found herself lost in them.

“Yes. You always loved me. I suspect this spell has already worn off. I don’t feel the magic forcing us together right now, do you?” Hermione thought about it. Had she always loved Draco Malfoy without ever realizing it? It was true that she didn’t feel the magic that brought them together anymore. In fact she hadn’t felt it since the night in the Great Hall. Had she willingly gotten pregnant? Willingly had unprotected sex with Draco out of some need to procreate with her destined mate? He had asked her where he should come…warned her that he close to ejaculation when they made love. She had said for him to come inside her. She couldn’t ignore these thoughts.

“Draco…” Hermione finally said in a whisper. He leaned up from kissing her belly and touching her middle and gazed into her eyes. “Does the same go for you? Did you intentionally ridicule me and make crude sexual jokes to me for years because you loved me?”

“Do you think I would put forth so much effort into getting under your skin, if I didn’t? Do you think I wanted to marry someone like Pansy, who can’t think for herself, who only wants to please me, but who never really knew me?”

“I need you to tell me Draco. Don’t answer my questions with more questions.” Draco rolled over on top of her at this, his arms underneath her and nuzzled his face into her neck.

“I’m saying, I’ve loved you all along. I’m in love with you Granger, and I think I’ve always been.”

“I love you too,” Hermione said, brimming with jubilance.

“I want to make love to you.”

“You want to make love to a fat girl with swollen ankles and wrists?” Hermione said and Draco kneeled between her legs.

“Yes. I love this fat girl. Just more of her to fuck.” Hermione slapped him playfully on the arm as she watched Draco remove his pants. Her heart was beating wildly as she watched him unbuckle his pants and slowly remove his trousers. When he was fully naked before her Hermione looked at the engorged cock in front of her and took it into her hand, stroking it lovingly. It had been dark the night they made love the first time. Now in the late afternoon and the sun shining above them in the Room of Requirement she could see the line of soft hair that trailed down his abdomen to his groin. She could see his big beautiful cock that was the puzzle piece she had been missing. She spread her legs after he slid her panties down and then she watched as he rubbed his tip against her wetness. He wrapped his arms around her legs tenderly and pulled her down closer to him, her legs falling to his sides as he gently pushed inside her. His face looked so beautiful as he slid into her. She concentrated on his expressions, the sweeping look of pleasure spreading across his face as he gently pumped his love into her. Hermione felt a gush of wetness and she knew she had just come, as his fingers stroked her clit purposefully. She needed to feel him deep and she pulled his hips into her, letting him know that she could take more. He thrust deeply into her at that and picked up his pace, his breaths growing short and more intense as he edged closer to his climax. Finally, with a deep jabbing motion Draco came, leaning down over her and shoving his tongue into her mouth while his body quaked and trembled over hers. Hermione felt another gush of her own wetness and then her body was floating again. His thrusts subsided as he kissed ferociously at her neck, laying small butterfly kisses down her neck and chest.

“That was our magic, together. Not a spell Hermione.”

“I know. I guess I’ve always known.”

“So you will marry me, today?”

“Yes, I will marry you.”

“We should call Lupin and the coven. I wish we had a way to signal everyone. We should have a way to do that,” Draco said.

POP

The trunk opened and Draco and Hermione raced to get dressed upon hearing the sound. Slowly, one by one, the thirteen entered the Room of Requirement. The coven of thirteen gathered in the circle in the Room of Requirement. Draco carried with him the bruises and scratches from the attack still. All eyes turned to Oliver Wood as he stepped forward to address the group.

“We were lucky today. We were lucky that Ron and Fred were able to step up and defend Draco today. I wish I had been there myself but I think we should commend Ron and Fred for putting house affiliation behind them and coming to the aid of one of our leaders.” The coven clapped for Ron and Fred and even Draco nodded in appreciation. Hermione squeezed Draco’s hand, her pride bursting forth that two of her friends had rushed to the aid of Malfoy, the man she loved. She knew it couldn’t be easy for Ron to put their differences aside, but it was slowly dawning on the entire coven that they were part of something bigger then petty rivalries and bigger then House affiliation.

The fifth trunk had opened and Tonks glided across the room to reveal the contents. The bottom was glowing bluish white. She motioned to Lupin, who knelt down next to her as they beheld the beautiful light emanating from the trunk. A silver chalice was carefully lifted from the trunk and then Tonks stood. Hermione found herself moving forward towards the glowing light. Tonks held the chalice out and Hermione dipped her hand gracefully inside the chalice and scooped the glowing crystals into her cupped hands. She walked around the circle now holding her hands out for each coven member to take one of the glowing crystals. They appeared to be stones but when Hermione touched them in her hands they felt alive. They became soft and squishy almost like a glowworm as she wriggled in her hands while she passed them out.

“Hold it in your palm, face up.” When all the stones were passed out she took her place in the circle once again next to Draco. A hum began and suddenly a ball of bluish light sprang from the trunk, hovering above the circle. Then the maiden’s voice spoke softly to the coven.

“I give you the stones of Europa. This is a secret means to communicating with one another. Raise your palm’s now and let the light wash over you."

They raised their palms with the moving stone in it, holding it to the light as they were told to do. Hermione felt the stone heat up as it seemed to melt into her hand. It cause a strange tingling feeling but it didn’t hurt. The blue light turned to purple and then yellow and then began to blink on the palms of the coven members. Beams of light shot out from the stones forming a solid ray of light that formed a circle around its members.

“You have all been identified by the stones. When the stone turns red, danger is at hand. If it turns red, then you must prepare for battle,”the maiden said, her voice resonating in Hermione's very soul, she felt her strongly.

“What about Hermione and the other girls? They received no weapons,” Draco mustered up the nerve to ask.

“The evil one’s spawn will rise against us. He knows of the prophecy. Combined their power will upset the balance of power. The Ministry will fall and death will consume this land.”

“ You mean The Dark Lord? Voldemort has made a child too? Are we to kill the mother before she gives birth?” Draco plead with the voice of the maiden.

“ You must protect the goddess’s child until he is born.The child will know what to do,”the voice of the maiden replied.

“Why Draco? Why me? How is our baby going to stop Voldemort?” Hermione called out nervously.

“It is written. Merlin will rise again,” was the maiden’s response.

“Protect the goddess, for she will be too weak to protect herself. Ladies of Merlin must be her strength when she has none. The first battle of many is close at hand. The stones will forewarn you.” With that the light ceased and they found themselves standing in pitch black.

“Lumos,” Draco chanted and the tip of his wand lit up.

“Look at your palms!” Ron shouted out. Tonks lit the candles with a wave of her wand and then they all peered down at their hands. The stones had embedded themselves into their hands. The stone appeared to be a swirling pool of the clearest water. Hermione touched it and felt tingles down her arm.

“So when it turns read, we grab our weapons and prepare to do battle?” Ron asked.

“Yes,” Draco responded. “When it turns red we fight.”

“And we are supposed to protect Hermione?” Ginny asked. Pansy and Lavender and the other girls all listened intently.

“This baby she carries is the key to it all. If it’s true that Voldemort has impregnated a witch with his child, then this is worse then we thought. One Voldemort is bad enough, but two…” Tonks said with a shudder.

“She said , ‘ it is written.’ Does anyone know what that means? Is it some prophecy or something?” Hermione asked. She wasn’t aware of any prophecy about Merlin. She knew she would be spending many hours in the restricted section of the library later on.

“We will marry tonight before the whole school,” Draco said and a shocked Hermione turned around to look at him, love welling up inside her. “The baby she carries inside her grows even now. We cannot hide it for much longer and when our peers find out there will be backlash. I want to marry her before this happens. What about today with my former mates is only the first of many assaults. I am not afraid, but I do want to thank Ron and Fred for coming to my aid. I promise you that your loyalty will be returned on the battlefield.”

“Would you like me to spread the news?” Lavender Brown piped in. Hermione nearly laughed, knowing that if anyone could spread the rumor of a wedding it would be lavender Brown.

“Yes, just don’t tell them who is getting married in the Great Hall tonight after dinner. I don’t want to have to be explaining things for the next several hours,” Hermione said and Draco slid a protective arm around her waist.

“Hermione, are you sure about this? Just last week you wanted to marry me? I know this coven is more important then anything I have ever been a part of. I have laid aside my personal feelings about Malfoy, but you and Harry are my best friends and marriage is such a big step. I want to make sure this is what you want, not just what Malfoy wants or what the coven needs,” Ron said with fervor and grace.

“Ronald, I know it’s confusing, but I really want this. Draco and I have talked about this and we see now that our feelings for one another aren’t merely the depth of a couple days time and a spell. We are right for one another in so many ways. I know it’s hard to see, but you will just have to trust me. Harry though…I would like you and I to tell him at dinner. Can I count on your support Ronald?” Hermione said to Ron and Ron nodded. Hermione smiled at this. Harry was not going to understand.

“You have our support too Hermione,” Fred and George said in unison.

“And mine Mione. If any of the girls in this school make fun of you for being pregnant, their arses are mine.”

“That goes or me too Hermione,” Lavender Brown said. Pansy was watching the girls but remained silent. Hermione had no reason to doubt Pansy though; she seemed to be changed, just as Blaise was. The strength of magic they felt between one another was strong. Ginny had commented how close she felt to everyone now. Tonks could sense Hermione thoughts and Lupin was loyal to Draco, like a right hand man. The power of the thirteen was growing stronger each day, their former lives becoming harder to remember.

“What will you name your baby?” Neville Longbottom said out of the blue.

“Merlin…I hadn’t thought about it,” Hermione said looking to Draco.

“Merlin indeed,” Lupin said with a knowing smile.

REVIEW?!

So I was feeling this story today. I go by what I’m feeling on any particular day as to what I update, but again if I know people are anxious for a chapter I will gravitate that way. So let me know!I have many more reviews on fanfiction net for this story and a lot of interest. Maybe it isn't the right type of story for adult fanfiction. I intend to do quite a bit of fantasy plotting in this story. If you like it review, because I'm trying to find a permanent home for my stories. I like unmoderated places like this and ff net but harrypotterfanfiction has been really good to me and I have a ton of reviews for Scorpions Kiss and Dark Fire. I just don't know which place to make my home. I like the readers here because they are more mature, but generally I think my target audience is 15-25 year olds or the young at heart.