The Family Jewels

Chapter 59
The Black Parade

Luna Lovegood watched from the shadows as Neville Longbottom finally walked down the Astronomy Tower steps. He had been up there for hours; maybe he was willing to talk now.

“Neville,” she said in her airy way.

“Oh Luna, I didn’t see you there.” Neville attempted to make his reply casual, but he was unsurprised when he saw the gleam of concern in her eyes. She hadn’t been sorted into Ravenclaw by mistake.

“I’m glad it wasn’t you,” she told him in an offhand manner.

“I’m s..sorry?” Neville stammered, a bit unnerved.

“To kill Mrs. Lestrange. I’m glad it wasn’t you. Killing a human leaves on a stain, you know.” Luna smiled beatifically at him.

“How did you…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Neville finished with a frown.

“Neville, I was there with you in the Ministry. I know.” Luna was not about to let him hide behind his fake bluster. He was too important to her for that.

To his credit, Neville didn’t pretend to misunderstand her, he gave her a curt nod but his eyes softened when he looked at her. Luna knew many things, but she didn’t know if she was going to reach Neville the way he so desperately needed. Perhaps actually hearing the words, said plainly out loud, when they were screaming in her mind, would convince him that vengeance was not his due, justice had a far more palatable taste.

Luna didn’t smile to accompany the words she had for him, this was not the moment for that. “It is not fair, it was not meant to be, it does not make you less of a man, it does not make any of the ones who went into battle a better wizard than you are.”

She knew he must have heard her when his eyes closed and his face tensed with a look of indescribable pain. All Neville could hear was his heart howling and the blood pumping through his veins. All his life, he had believed that he wasn’t a strong enough wizard to fight the Death Eaters who had harmed his parents. That had changed after fifth year; he had thought he would have the chance to gain vengeance for the Longbottoms.

Luna grasped his hand and was surprised at how tightly Neville squeezed hers in return. Finally, Neville’s brown eyes met her blue ones, but it wasn’t acceptance that she saw there, it was defeat. It took a great deal to anger Luna Lovegood, and even she was surprised when her temper met its flashpoint. “No,” was all she said, but she was sure that Neville heard every part of the denial she made.

The minutes seemed to drag like hours before Neville gave a nod and somehow, the pain seemed to fade from his eyes slightly. He reached out for both her hands and Luna thought that he was going to hug her. Instead, his mouth met hers and he sucked on her lower lip firmly. She found herself held tightly in his arms, his tongue seeking hers. She kissed him back just as avidly, surprised as she was. She had thought that he would be tentative and unsure, he was not. His hands slid up and down her back almost roughly, and she was helpless against how quickly her desire was rising. This was their first kiss, fully clothed, standing in a corridor that was far from private. If he were to slide a hand under her skirt, she knew that he would find her dripping after only a few minutes. His hands moved to her sides, his thumbs only just brushing the sides of her breasts as they were pressed to his chest. She wished he would cup her breasts in his hands, those thumbs rubbing her stiff nipples. How do you ask a boy to slide his hand into your knickers to relieve an ache that was starting to take away all brain function? She didn’t know, so she contented herself with sliding her hands into the hair at the back of his neck and moving her mouth down to kiss under his ear, getting into a closer embrace.

“You are a great kisser,” he said from somewhere to the side before his mouth took hers again.

Luna almost laughed. She had been kissed before, and it had never been like this. She didn’t know who he had been kissing, but she wasn’t the one who was turning this kiss into one for the record books. She couldn’t tell if he had an erection, his lower body wasn’t pressed against her. They were friends, she cared about him, she wanted him to slide his thigh between her legs and allow her to ride it, damn it! But he did not. He gave her a few gentle, quick kisses and said, “I need to meet with Professor Sprout.”

‘Huh? What?’ were her only thoughts to that statement. Her mind blinked in confusion, ‘No, you have to stay here and finish what you started,’ was what she wanted to say. She did not say the words. She just kissed him again.

Neville broke the kiss again and walked a few feet away. “I am going to be late if I don’t hurry. She wants me to start taking on more duties in the greenhouses, she’s offered me an apprenticeship for next year.”

Luna nodded, not moving. She was glad that he came back twice to kiss her again before he finally turned the corner to sprint down the stairs, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. She was more than surprised, she was stunned. Of all the ways she had imagined their confrontation ending, this had not been in the realm of possibility. With two of his dorm mates still out of the castle, she wondered if sneaking into his room was possible. She would have to investigate that. Right after she headed back to Ravenclaw and masturbated. She was never going to be able to concentrate in this condition.

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Blaise Zabini sat in a chair in the private waiting room outside the healer’s office and attempted to resist the temptation to look at the clock, again. Hermione had been in there for an interminable amount of time and Draco was still not here. He knew Draco had responsibilities, but this was getting ridiculous!

He stood up and turned to face the door when he heard it opening, automatically schooling his features into a welcoming smile. It fell when it was just Healer Barnes, Hermione was not with her. Wait, Hermione was not with her.

“Mister Zabini?” the healer’s pleasant voice registered after a moment.

“Yes?” he questioned with what he hoped was an open smile.

“Miss Granger has made tolerable progress today, but there is a rather long road ahead of her. I wonder if you can tell me a bit more about this relationship the two of you have with Lord Malfoy?”

That was a loaded question, if Blaise had ever heard one. It was not in his nature to answer questions without an expectation of gain. He was attempting to compose a response when she spoke again.

“Perhaps you would feel more comfortable in my office?” she asked. “Where no one might overhear?”

Blaise moved to the door as she said, “I will not be offended if you wish to cast your own Silencing Charm or ward for any recording.”

It didn’t take him long to find a small plaque on her wall acknowledging her service to Slytherin House as a prefect some seven years previously. She seemed to imply that such precautions were unnecessary, but since he had her permission, he did just that. As a Slytherin, he knew she understood perfectly. When they were comfortably seated and she had provided him with a cup of coffee that almost met with his standards, the silence had lengthened a bit.

First things first. “Where is Hermione?” She was his first concern, and he had been surprised that she was no longer in the office since he had waited outside since she had gone in.

“She was exhausted. I have a small room here for patients to rest.” Healer Barnes did not smile as she contemplated her patient’s condition. “She is sleeping right now, but you will be able to take her with you, if that is what she decides that she truly wants. A few days as an in-patient would not be amiss. I am rather disappointed that my colleagues released her from St. Mungo’s without proper care.”

Blaise had to smile grimly at that. “We did hide what had happened to her as well as we could,” he acknowledged. “In the aftermath of the deaths of the Dark Lord and his inner circle, she has no need of further publicity.”

“Miss Granger is an extraordinary young witch, but she is the victim of a violent crime. Her health and mental wellbeing are of paramount importance. We will be able to ensure her privacy.”

Blaise shook his head, “I’m afraid that isn’t good enough. I am not questioning your skills as a healer, but as an in-patient, many medi-witches would have access to her chart. Any one of the tabloids would be willing to pay them hundreds of thousands of Galleons for this story. I can’t allow that to happen.”

Camilla Barnes had feared that this would be the young man’s response. This did not mean that she was not planning on impressing upon him that they were not following the recommended protocol for trauma of this type. She frowned. “You did not answer my question about the new Lord Malfoy. He seems to be most important to Hermione, yet he is not here. Perhaps she holds a position of lesser importance to him?”

They were disturbed by the sound of knocking on the door, followed by the healer’s receptionist discreetly opening the door a few inches. She attempted to speak to her in a quiet voice, “I’m so sorry, ma’am. I did inform him that you were with a patient, but he does seem to be rather insistent.” Her voice had acquired a rather exasperated tone by the end of the sentence.

‘Ahh,’ Blaise thought, ‘that will be Draco now.’

Indeed it was Lord Draco Malfoy, still wearing the formal robes from the courtroom. But this was not the arrogant, haughty boy that he could be; this was the earnest, concerned young man that Blaise hoped they would be seeing a lot more of in the future.

“I do beg your pardon, ma’am, for being late, but I had trouble shaking the press after the trial. I did not want to lead them here.” He said this while silently checking in with Blaise, his eyebrow quirking up at Hermione’s absence. He said nothing yet, Blaise had better information than he did, better to give nothing away.

Blaise’s eyes just glimmered a hint of a smile as he turned back to the healer. It did not reach his lips. He was quick to re-ward the room after the disruption. “Hermione holds a position of greatest importance to us both, we will do anything and everything to ensure her full recovery, money is no object.”

Draco entered the conversation as if he had been there all along, “Time, however, is of the essence. Hermione is Head Girl as I’m sure she told you, she cannot miss any more time at school or another of the seventh year prefects will be appointed to take her spot.”

Blaise had not realized this, he just knew that Hermione was concerned about the number of classes they had missed and how far behind she was in her workload. Draco was Head Boy though, he would know the consequences for being absent from Hogwarts. Blaise could see from the look on the healer’s face that she understood just how disastrous losing her position would be to Hermione at this point, and that didn’t take into account the questions and explanations that far too many people would feel was their due.

“All right, gentlemen, I do see your point. Should I assume that you discussed this beforehand?” Healer Barnes was beginning to understand what her patient saw in these young men.

“No, actually,” Blaise answered. “It is simply obvious to us both.”

Draco sat down next to Blaise, ready to move on to Hermione’s treatment now that they had settled the point of her accommodations. “Where is Hermione now? Do we need to have her discharged?”

“Hermione is in that room behind you,” the Healer revealed. “I have been given to understand that she has not been eating or sleeping well. I have given her a potion that mimics the effects of the Muggle drug Marinol to help with both these symptoms, but she cannot use it for the long term.”

Draco and Blaise looked at each other. They were purebloods, what was Marinol?

Seeing their confused looks, the healer elaborated, “it is a derivative of cannabis, it improves appetite and encourages sleep. It will not make her high, but she might be a bit dopey.”

They were struggling to control their laughter. The healer had, in effect, offered Hermione a joint. They were both sure that she had not explained the potion to Hermione before she had taken it. Perhaps they would not be sharing this information, not if she ate and slept while she was taking it.

“Hermione and I have talked extensively about what happened to her. It is beyond unfortunate that she was raped by your father, Lord Malfoy.” The healer looked Draco in the eyes. “I believe that he took a Belvoir to simulate your appearance?”

Draco looked down, unable to meet the healer’s eyes after a moment. “That’s right,” was all he said.

“We have dealt with the former Lord Malfoy ourselves. There was no need to press charges in the public forum,” Blaise said with admirable self-restraint.

Draco had not known that they were going to move so quickly, but he was not really surprised. Blaise’s family was here in London. This was personal, with Blaise out of the hospital, Carlo and Paolo Zabini were still here for one reason only.

Healer Barnes was unsure if she should comment on this information. She knew that she didn’t want to be informed of what the Zabini family had considered adequate punishment.

Instead, she crossed to the door. “Would you two like to check on her?” she asked with a smile. They both shot out of their chairs to see Hermione. She looked at their expressions, the barely hidden eagerness behind the Slytherin façade. Perhaps she would have to revise her initial assessment of the odd relationship these three teenagers were in, it seemed to be based upon more than sex and power. Not that she doubted these two were interested in both sex and power, but their involvement with the Gryffindor Princess might be healthier than she would have imagined. The next few weeks would be crucial to the survival of their relationship as it stood. It was entirely possible that only one of these men would still be involved with Hermione after her treatment was over. That was all up to the three of them.


Hermione was sleeping on her side on a small bed, not a hospital bed, but a regular twin. The lines of tension had faded from around her mouth, and Blaise and Draco had brief smiles for each other as they noted it. Healer Barnes took in the scene in front of her in detail and decided to allow these two to wake Miss Granger with a bit of privacy. They were going to be the keys to her recovery, best to see how well they handled themselves. Poppy Pomfrey had spoken well of Mr. Zabini, and her opinion of the Malfoy heir had apparently changed in the last few years he had been attending Hogwarts. He had been an overly indulged, almost vicious child and had developed into a leader, a role model for the light-leaning Slytherin. She was impressed with him herself, it was gratifying to see Slytherin House producing such men.

“I’ll give you a few minutes to wake Miss Granger, then I’d like us all to talk briefly before you can leave,” Healer Barnes said quietly.

Neither Blaise or Draco answered her, their focus on the slight young woman asleep next to them. Draco reached for her hand and almost started swearing when she flinched away from him. He hadn’t realized that his hands were so cold. He did hope that was the only reason she had shied away from him. He couldn’t remember if she had ever done it before, but it was hard not to feel hurt. ‘Steady on, mate,’ he thought to himself, ‘best to actually talk to her before going wonky.’

“Blaise,” Hermione said without opening her eyes, “why was Draco touching me with his incredibly cold hands?”

“A terrible thing happened, cara, Draco has forgotten that he’s an adult wizard and can do a warming charm whenever he chooses to.”

“What a tragedy,” Hermione drawled, in a very good impression of Draco’s own drawl.

“I love you too, wench,” Draco drawled back. No one can do it like he can.

Hermione actually opened her eyes this time. “I know you do, Draco. I’m counting on it.”

Blaise felt real hope for the first time in what seemed like forever. They were going to get her back. They deserved it.