Just Around the Riverbend

jillianspuzzlebox
Voracious Reader
margaritama (x2)
Alina
hairsprayX12
hannahbanana
angeles
kitkat
JadeLucky
LyndieLuv
Serin Blackmoon
LaBibliographe (x8)

Enjoy the chapter, my lovelies. It took a very long time to get this right.

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Lucius looked at the calendar, and frowned sharply. February 10. He had four days to find a suitable Valentine’s Day gift for Hermione, or risk possible castration. And although he was pretty sure he could pin her before she got that far, he did have to sleep sometimes, and he liked his balls where they were.

Phelan and Daisy would be coming for the weekend, and then the ‘big day’ would- thankfully- be after they left.
Hermione liked flowers, but there was an abundant amount in the Malfoy gardens. She often went out and brought small bouquets in with her now that the late winter flowers were starting to bloom. They were much more colorful and fragrant than the deep winter blooms.

She shouldn’t have too many chocolates, either, so that was out. She wasn’t a fan of jewelry. He supposed all that left was either a nice dinner or a romantic night. Hmm…maybe he could combine them and-

“Lucius?”

He looked up to see Hermione enter the study.

“Here, love.” He replied. Her face lit up happily, and she crossed the room to him.

“Phelan and Daisy just sent an owl. They’ll be coming through the Floo Friday night, and they’ll return the same way Sunday evening.” She said, holding out a letter for him. He retrieved the paper from her, and scanned it.

“That’s fine by me. Do you want to write the reply?” he asked. She walked around his desk and opened the top drawer to retrieve a piece of parchment. He watched her, admiring the curve of her belly through her form-fitting shirt. He had never found her more attractive than she was now, her tummy round with his child.

She penned the note quickly, and walked out to retrieve the owl that had met her out in the gardens. The weather was cool, but it was pleasant enough to sit outside in.

Lucius pulled out a new sheet of parchment, and began to make notes. With a sly smile he began sketching out the details of Valentine’s day for his kitten. He was sure she’d enjoy herself.

Or he’d die trying to make her.

~~

Hermione stood next to Lucius at the Floo, waiting on Phelan and Daisy to arrive. Neither was prepared, however, for a tearful Daisy to emerge from the Floo, clutching her weekend bag like a lifeline.

“Daisy?” Lucius asked, alarmed. He reached out to touch her, and she pulled away.

“I don’t want to talk to you, or him, or anyone!” she snapped, and rushed out of the room. Phelan emerged a short time after, looking stricken. Lucius rounded on him, wand drawn.

“What the hell happened, Mr. Greyback?” Lucius hissed. Phelan looked at him, and put up his hands in surrender.

“I don’t know!” he cried earnestly. “She asked me what I was planning for Valentine’s Day, and I told her that it was a holiday for fools and that I wasn’t foolish enough to participate. Then she started crying and ran through the Floo. What’s her problem?” Phelan blurted. And he had such a seriously befuddled expression on his face that Hermione took pity on him. Lucius looked as gobsmacked as Phelan had ever seen him.

“You said Valentine’s Day was a holiday for fools?” he asked in disbelief. Phelan was lucky all Daisy did was burst into tears. Had he tried that on his and Narcissa’s first Valentine’s Day, he would have spent the rest of the year with a little lady by the name of Mrs. Palm and her five lovely daughters.

“It is! Why do I need a special day to declare my love to Daisy when I can tell her all year long?” he asked, genuinely puzzled. Hermione made a crooning sound, and moved forward, suddenly pulling Phelan into an embrace. He went limp as she pulled his head against her shoulder, and an awkward look crossed his face.

“That’s the most adorable and romantic thing I’ve ever heard come out of any man’s mouth.” Hermione said, and patted Phelan’s head. He blinked.

“I’m…I wasn’t trying to be romantic…” he said. Hermione let him go with a small giggle.

“That’s what makes it so adorable.” She said. Lucius frowned.

“Hermione…please go talk to Daisy. I think Mr. Greyback needs some advice from a fellow man.” He said, and moved towards the young man. Hermione gave Phelan one last pat on the head, and shuffled off to find the distraught Daisy. When Hermione was well out of earshot, Lucius gave Phelan a swift cuff to the back of the head. Phelan yelped, and then growled.

“What was that for, you poncy git?!” he snarled.

“First and foremost, that was for making Daisy cry. Secondly, it was for making me look bad in front of Hermione, and third, it was for being an idiot!” Lucius snapped back. “You will learn something very quickly, Mr. Greyback. It does not matter how powerful or dominant you are in a relationship: if your lady is not happy, then you are not happy.” Lucius said. Phelan’s arms fell to his side with a flop.

“I didn’t know it was that important to her. I gathered enough to know that Christmas was important to her. No one told me about Valentine’s Day. How did she think I would know? My father didn’t tell me about it. It’s not like he went around giving out roses and chocolates.” Phelan snapped, and Lucius had to fight the mental image of Fenrir Greyback dressed as cupid and shooting arrows of love through people’s eyes and then offering chocolate to their corpses. “I didn’t mean to make her cry…” Phelan said. Lucius merely smiled.

“Quite all right then, I suppose. Besides, sometimes the make-up is worth the fight. Come, my boy, and I’ll teach you the fine art of apologizing.”

~~

Hermione knocked on Daisy’s door.

“Go away!” Daisy snapped from within. Hermione knocked again.

“It’s Hermione, Daisy. I think we need to talk.” She said. She heard shuffling, and then the door was wrenched open.

“What?” Daisy asked, and sniffled. Hermione merely leveled her with a look.

“Are you going to invite me in?” she asked. Daisy moved aside from the doorway, and Hermione entered the room. Daisy noticed then that Hermione’s belly was protruding nicely, and gave her a small smile.

“You look nice, Hermione.” She said. Hermione returned her smile, and went over to Daisy’s sofa in her little den.

“Thank you, Daisy. Come, sit and talk with me.” She said. Daisy sighed, shut the door behind her, and then went and sat on the other side of the sofa.

“Now. Tell me how you learned about Valentine’s Day.” Hermione said. Daisy blinked.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Who taught you about Valentine’s Day? Who told you how to celebrate it?” she asked again. Daisy smiled.

“My mom and dad. Daddy always got momma something nice on Valentine’s Day, and he treated her very special. He even got me a box of chocolates and a little potted plant every year.” Daisy said, and misted up again.

“So you’re telling me that your parents taught you about this holiday?” Hermione asked. Daisy nodded. “Now tell me: with no mother, and his…specific father, how do you suppose that Phelan was to learn to celebrate this holiday? Can you imagine Fenrir Greyback going about giving people flowers and writing sentimental messages in sparkling cards?” she asked. Daisy, remembering the rather scruffy and hulking man that had smacked her around, shook her head.

“He’s unfamiliar with love at all. Do you know what he said to us when he arrived? He said he didn’t understand why he needed a special day to show his love, when he was perfectly capable of showing it every day of the year.” She said. She saw Daisy’s expression soften.

“It’s our first Valentine’s Day together. I just wanted it to be special.” Daisy said softly. Hermione grinned.

“Not….too special…I hope?” she said. Daisy blushed, her caramel-colored cheeks darkening.

“No!” she said quickly. “We already promised cousin Lucius…I just wanted him to ask me to the Ball. He’s old enough to go. He could have taken me. But he didn’t and it’s too late to get a dress now…” Daisy said.

“Dances aren’t everything.” Hermione replied. “It might be too late for a silly little dance, but I’m sure Lucius can help him whip something nice up. Now that he knows Valentine’s Day means something to you, I’m sure he’ll have something ready.” Hermione reassured her. Daisy smiled.

“I hope so.”

~~

The weekend passed quickly for the young couple. Daisy found it unfamiliar to sleep in a room that didn’t have Phelan only a few feet away, and Phelan found that going back to the garden house sucked. Lucius- after some serious threatening from Hermione- promised the young Lycan a room to himself inside the Manor before they returned for the summer.

As they re-entered their rooms via Floo, Daisy waited patiently for Phelan to emerge. When he stepped through the emerald flames, he found himself pinned with a hug from Daisy.

“I’m sorry I reacted so poorly.” She said. He petted her hair.

“No worries, love. Your cousin helped me come up with something nice for you, even at the last minute. You’ll get your special Valentine’s Day.” He said.

Morning came far too slowly for Daisy. When she woke, Phelan was already dressed and gone, and she found herself disappointed before the day had already started. She showered and dressed slowly, thinking he had already forgotten his promise. Her mood was exacerbated by the fact that the Great Hall was decorated in pink and red hearts. She sat at her place beside Tom, and sighed heavily.

Tom looked over from his heart-shaped toast, and blinked his pale eyes at her.

“Something wrong?” he asked, dipping his toast into the yellow of his sunny-side-up egg.

“Besides your breakfast? No…I guess not.” Daisy said, shuddering in disgust as his egg yolk ran. She hated sunny-side-up with a passion. Her yolks had to be solid, or she wasn’t eating it.

The morning Post came, and Daisy watched the owls deliver presents and boxes to all of the other girls. Daisy stabbed her toast viciously with her fork, satisfied when it bled butter. She was too preoccupied to notice a last-minute entry to the Hall, or the way the entire student body started to go quiet. She was only drawn out of her reverie when Tom poked her in the head.

“Tom, I swear to Bob I’ll stab you in the eye if you touch me again.” She said. Tom snickered.

“Look up, you stupid girl.” He teased. Daisy looked up, and her retort was lost on her tongue. Phelan stood in front of her, looking like something out of a dream. He was wearing one of his white uniform shirts, with the first two buttons undone, showing a glimpse of his strong neck and a bit of silver-grey chest hair. Over his shirt he was wearing a plain, but sharply made brown blazer, muggle-style, and accentuated with new dark denim jeans, and brown leather boots. His hair was mussed artistically, and his face cleanly shaven of the light fuzz he’d started to grow recently.

He was holding a large heart-shaped box of chocolates in one hand, and a parcel in the other hand, wrapped in shiny silver paper.

Daisy tried to speak, but instead of a word, she merely gave a strangled grunt, causing Tom to snicker again. She promptly stabbed him in the leg with her fork.

“Some sweets for my dear lady, on this most auspicious holiday.” Phelan said silkily, and presented Daisy with the chocolates. She flushed, and took the box from him. “And this,” he said, holding the silver box in two hands. “Is my invitation for you to attend the ball with me tonight.” He added.

She received the box from him, and slipped the separately wrapped lid from it’s mate. She gasped when she looked inside. A beautiful turquoise dress rested inside, along with a turquoise and red beaded necklace, and some flat thong sandal shoes, with an almost Native American beaded pattern on them. Daisy looked up at Phelan, her eyes misting up.

“Happy Valentine’s day.” He said, and was rewarded by Daisy nearly knocking him over as she shot up out of her seat and hugged him. A few of the students began to clap for them, and whether for spite or true congratulations, half of the student body joined in to whistle and cheer for them.

Phelan returned Daisy’s hug.

~~

Hermione’s day had been rather plain. She had woken up to find Lucius missing in action, and with only a single rose and a note on the pillow to wish her Happy Valentine’s day. She’d spent a good majority of the morning crying. After what she’d seen him help Phelan pull off, he must have run out of time for her, and was avoiding her to keep from having to pay the price. Well! The bastard wouldn’t have to worry about any more children, because as soon as she caught up with him, she was cutting off his cock and making him suck it himself.

Her surprise came at lunch, when as she thought she would be dining by herself, a letter appeared in red sparks in front of her. She picked up the folded paper, and recognized Lucius’ scrawling penmanship.

My dearest Hermione, he began, and she frowned a little.

You must think I have forgotten you. I assure you that is not the case. he continued, and she felt a great deal of tension leave her body. I’m sorry I left so abruptly this morning. I have very big plans for tonight, and I had to complete them. You will not be disappointed. In order to enjoy this present fully, I will present you with the proper attire. Be in our room at five to receive the clothing, and then I will meet you in the foyer at six thirty sharp to take you to our destination. Be prompt.

Yours truly,

L

She was fairly bouncing with excitement by the end. He hadn’t forgotten her! She didn’t have to cut off his cock! As a matter of fact, if this date went anything like it sounded, she was going to be putting that particular muscle to much more pleasurable use…

~~

She fairly few up to their rooms at five, hoping to catch a glimpse of her elusive lover. But she was disappointed when a parcel phased into existence on the bed. She opened the sparkling red paper like a child at Christmas, and slipped the two pieces of the box apart. Inside, a beautiful red dress was nestled into white tissue paper.

She lifted the dress out of its box, and admired it. It was a pretty, knee-length cocktail dress, with a sleeveless beaded bodice, and a light airy skirt. She could see that the way it was cut was designed for a pregnant woman, and she blushed a little at showing off her baby bump so readily. She’d seen the way people looked at her sometimes. They were disgusted by her. And she knew deep down that it wasn’t because she was pregnant, it was because she was pregnant and unmarried. But she wasn’t about to push Lucius into something so…permanent. She’d already botched everything up by getting pregnant.

She shouldn’t say it like that…it made it sound like Lucius was unhappy that they were expecting. And that wasn’t the case at all. He had never looked so excited as he did when they spoke of the baby. She often found him standing in the nursery, just looking around with a smile on his face.

She looked back into the box, surprised to find a shoe box and a flat jeweler’s box sitting inside. She reached for the shoe box first, and slipped off the lid. Inside were possibly the cutest red heels she had ever seen in her life. The heels weren’t very tall, but just enough to accentuate her calves, and give her a little height. She shoes themselves were peep-toe, and had a pretty red strap to fasten around her ankle.

And inside the jeweler’s box was a simple necklace and earring set. The necklace was a fine silver chain, with a finely made butterfly dangling on the end. The butterfly’s body was made of five rubies, and its wings were dotted with little sparkling diamonds. The earrings were a simple ruby stud surrounded by smaller diamonds.

She put down everything on the bed, and had to step back for a few moments to let out a few tears of sheer awe escape. How long had be been planning this? Where had he gotten such a beautiful dress? Why had he gotten such nice things for her?

Remembering the time she was supposed to be ready, she quickly went to the shower.

~~

It was only six when she emerged from their room, ready for a night out. It took a bit of extra balance to walk pregnant in any heels, but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as she’d thought. In fact, the way the heels were made, they were quite comfortable.

She walked down the stairs, and past the library, where she startled a reading Draco. He emerged from the library as she passed.

“Where are you going?” he asked. She turned around, and smiled at him.

“Lucius is taking me out. Do you not have anyone to spend Valentine’s Day with?” she asked. He snorted.

“All women are whores and gold grubbers.” He growled. Hermione raised her eyebrow, in a very reminiscent manner of Lucius.

“I take it things didn’t work out between you and Annalisa?” she asked. He merely diverted his eyes. “I’m sorry.” She added. This was probably the calmest conversation she’d ever had with Draco. Usually he just spat out a few insults and left. She got the feeling that this time he was incredibly lonely.

“If the child is a boy, do you plan on trying to worm him into the space as heir?” Draco asked suddenly. Hermione gaped at him, her sparkling lips parted in a perfect ‘o’.

“What?” she asked, after a few befuddled seconds.

“Exactly what I said, Granger. What are you plans for that child?” He asked, nodding his head in the direction of her belly.

“My God, Draco…is this what you worry about? Listen to me: you are Lucius’ son. You are his heir. If for some curse of Merlin I gave birth to twin boys I still would never try to make them replace you. I’m not trying to replace anyone, Draco. I’m not trying to replace you, or your mother. My God…how…how could I ever replace her?” Hermione asked, and looked down.

“I haven’t ever seen him so excited.” Draco said suddenly. Hermione looked back up, and hastily wiped at her eyes.

“He is, isn’t he?” she asked, smiling a little. There were a few awkward moments of silence between them. “I want you to be this child’s big brother, Draco. I know we never got along at school, but you two share a father.” She said. Draco gave a little smirk.

“I always did want a little brother or sister.” He said. “I asked for one every Christmas until I was old enough for father to tell me that it wasn’t that easy…And every time he told me, I saw him lose a little of himself. You make him happy, too. I’ve seen the way he comes to life when you enter a room. He is….happy.”

“I want him to be.”

Draco took a few steps closer to her, looking a bit nervous.

“May I…you know…” he said, and motioned with his hand toward her belly.

“You want to feel the baby kick?” she asked. She reached out and took his hand, and placed it on her rounded belly. And as if on cue, the baby gave a swift kick to the front of her belly.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Draco asked, surprised at the power of it.

“Sometimes. Especially if it happens to be my bladder.” She said, smiling.

The two looked up when they heard the clearing of a throat. Lucius stood there, in impeccable black dress robes, with a green silk vest underneath. He had his eyebrow up, and his hands behind his back.

“Hello, father.” Draco said, and slowly pulled back his hand. “Hermione and I were just coming to an understanding. Enjoy your date.” He said, and disappeared back into the library. Lucius looked at Hermione.
“Truly?” he asked. Hermione nodded, and moved close to Lucius. He folded her up in his arms, and kissed her forehead.

“Good. My psychotic little family is finally coming together.”
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Awww.....Okay. I skipped a little bit of time. I thought Valentine's day would be a good place to land. I wanted to add some smut, but I think I'll save that for next chapter. Enjoy, and I'm sorry it took so long.