The Family Jewels

Chapter 44
Trouble

Blaise had planned this moment in his mind so many times, now that it was here; he wasn’t sure which version he should use. He led Hermione to a wing chair in Draco’s room that had a fine view of the Forbidden Forest. When she was seated, he knelt next to her and took both of her hands in his. “You know I love you, Hermione,” he began. She nodded, waiting for whatever he was going to say.

“A lot has happened, and I want to tell you that I have never been more terrified in my life when I realized that you were gone. If I hadn’t have been such a coward, I would have asked if I could give you something very special long before now instead of playing it off as part of a bet.” Blaise opened a square black velvet box and showed it to her. “I had this made for you in Florence this summer; it is a Portkey that will take you to wherever I am if you push on the Z.”

Hermione held her breath as he took out a gold bangle bracelet which was channel set with diamonds and emeralds all around. There was no clasp, but there was a slightly raised oval that sported a Z in an ancient looking script. “If you accept this, only I will be able to remove it from your wrist. Will you wear this, for me?” Blaise looked into her eyes to see if she was willing to be bound to him.

Hermione nodded wordlessly, and he slipped the bracelet onto her left wrist. It slid easily over her hand, then shrunk to fit her wrist so that it would not come off. It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen, and she didn’t care to contemplate how much it must be worth. “I love you Blaise. Are you sure you want me to have this?”

Blaise laughed, “Yes, bella, I am sure. I was very nervous that you wouldn’t want it.”

“Blaise how many times have you made love to me?” Hermione asked.

Blaise looked upset. “I don’t know cara, should I have been keeping count?”

“No, love. When I accepted you into my heart and my body, we already had a commitment. I am proud to wear your bracelet.” Hermione leaned forward in the chair and kissed Blaise gently on the mouth. Blaise let her kiss him for a few minutes, then took control, his hands holding her head, his thumbs gently brushing her cheeks.

“I know that you will say that I do not need to take care of you, but I want to claim it as my right.” Blaise looked into her eyes to make sure that she understood. “When I put you under my family’s protection, I hoped that you knew what that meant. You were hurt, cara, and I know who hurt you. I will have justice, Hermione. My honor demands it.”

“I don’t understand, Blaise, Professor Snape said that he was taken away by the Ministry. I am sure that they will not let him go.” Hermione was slightly frightened by the tightly controlled power in Blaise. She knew that his anger was not directed at her, but it was still daunting. Right then she knew in a way that hadn’t been clear to her before, that he was claiming vengeance over her and that his idea of justice did not involve trials and prison.

“What about Draco?” Hermione asked in a voice so soft, she barely whispered it.

“Draco understands. In a way, I will be doing him a favor. He will sleep at night knowing that I taken this shame away for both of us,” Blaise said. He seemed to shake off his mood and smiled at her.

“This has been a difficult day. Why don’t we go see your friends and you can show them that you are back safely?” Blaise took her hand and walked with her to Gryffindor tower.

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Draco walked down to the dungeons, wondering if he should have told Potter about his date with the Dark Lord. He decided that he had done the right thing; he needed to talk to his godfather first. He knocked on the door to the Potion Master’s private quarters, and received the customary “Come”.

He walked into Severus’ sitting room, to find his mother and godfather talking on a settee near the fire. “Hello, Mum,” he said, kissing her glossy cheek. “Uncle Sev,” he greeted.

“Darling, have you made up with your witch?” Narcissa asked, barely suppressing a smile.

“Yes Mum,” Draco mumbled. Even though he had gone to his mother earlier, it was really to talk about his father. He was not comfortable discussing Hermione with her, especially since Blaise had confessed to Severus that he was sleeping with her as well. Their arrangement was not unknown in the wizarding world, but it was not common. Hermione was a Muggle-born, he had no idea how her parents were likely to react.

“Your mother has showed me the letter your father sent,” Severus jumped into the conversation. Draco was able to lift his head to meet his eyes, suddenly grateful for the care he had always shown him.

“Yes, I assume it was genuine. Have the Aurors been able to get any more information out of Father? Will the Dark Lord be there?” Draco asked.

“Unfortunately, the Dark Lord reveals his plans to no one. When he calls us, we come. I believe that there is something planned, but we cannot be certain what,” Severus said. “We have been able to keep your father’s capture very quiet. He was not taken back to the Ministry, but to a safe house.”

“Are we going to try to use him as bait for the Dark Lord?” Draco asked pseudo nonchalantly.

Snape raised his eyebrows. “That is not up to me to decide. There will be a meeting later with the Headmaster and some others. You will be there, along with the Head Girl. There must be some way that we can use the bond that she has established with your father.”

“Blaise won’t like that one bit,” Draco said, actually smiling.

“Mister Zabini seems rather fond of Miss Granger, doesn’t he?” Severus asked in a calculating manner.

“Yes,” Draco answered, “Very.” His godfather just nodded.

“Uncle Sev, actually there was one other thing I wanted to ask you.” Draco wasn’t sure if right now was the best time to ask if they could have another party in the Head Dorm. The last one had turned into somewhat of a drunken orgy, but isn’t that the sign of a truly great party?

“Yes, Draco?” Severus asked patiently.

“Sir, I was wondering if we could have a party in the Head Dorm next weekend to celebrate Slytherin’s Quidditch victory over Gryffindor?” Draco said, knowing that Uncle Sev had been deeply pleased over the win.

“That sounds reasonable, Draco,” Severus said indulgently. “The usual rules will apply.”

“Thank you, Uncle Sev. I didn’t really get to enjoy it at the time, but it felt awesome to beat them,” Draco enthused.

“I am quite sure that it did.” Severus actually smiled at him. “Be sure and tell Mister Zabini that I will be going over the details for this party in fine detail prior to the event.”

“Thank you, sir. Goodnight Mother,” Draco kissed her cheek again, wondering why she had been so quiet while he and Severus had been talking. At the first mention of his father, his mother had seemingly shut down completely. Draco looked worriedly at Severus, who gave him a small nod in acknowledgment that he would insure that Narcissa was fine.

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A/N – I know it’s short, but it does clear up one of the things people have been asking about. Thank you for reading and reviewing. It really makes my day.

JUJI – Thank you. As soon as I read your note I remembered. My bad.

Lyndie578 – Sometimes, I don’t lie. I am actually quite good at lying, but let’s not go into that here.