Potions,Poisons and Antidotes

Disclaimer: All things pertaining to Harry Potter are the property of JKR. I make no money from this fictional story.

Chapter 7

The rest of the day was a blur of paperwork, reports and crying Weasleys. They had moved Arthur to Draco’s library as soon as possible. Draco had then stepped in and took over gathering the rest of the family so that Arthur could break the news. Before an hour had passed the entire Weasley clan was ensconced in the Manor. Hermione and Severus had to leave to oversee the teams working on the case. They had the sad job of moving the bodies to the appropriate places.

Draco thought he had never seen so many tears as the whole family came together and mourned. He set the house elves to ready rooms for them and preparing tea. As some of the emotions began to subside he advised Arthur to have the family rest in the guest rooms so that they could be fresh later. He knew there would be a lot of preparations to be made. “Thank you Draco. You have been a tremendous help.”

“No thanks are necessary Arthur, you and Molly are like family. This house is big enough to hold the extended family, why don’t you stay here a few days. The news reporters will be a nightmare if you try to go home. I’ll talk with your PR staff and by the time you finish with a quick nap we’ll have a press release ready for you to look over. It would probably be better to keep Molly and Ginny away from the reporters for another day or two. Wouldn’t want them hexing anyone no matter how much they might deserve it.” Draco said with a wry smile.

“You’re right the thought of the politics involved in this hadn’t even entered my mind. And yes, the first rude comment or question directed to Molly or Ginny would result in hexing. Thank you.” Arthur said with a sigh as he turned to climb the stairs. He looked defeated, his shoulders slumped and he seemed to have lost his usual bounce in his step.

With a heavy heart Draco returned to the library. He poured himself a small firewisky and stood looking out to the patio the he and Hermione had dined on last night. Had it really been only been hours ago that he had been so happy? As he stood there in deep thought he didn’t hear the floo activate behind him.

Hermione had FINALLY finished giving her report and doing all the necessary paperwork and all she wanted to do was go home to Draco. As she stepped out of the fireplace she saw him standing at the windows looking onto the patio. He stood tall and straight but she could feel the sadness radiating from him. Draco, are you alright?” She asked softly.

He turned to her and she could see how upset he was in his grey eyes. She crossed the room quickly and took him in her arms. “I’m fine. I can’t imagine what Arthur is going through. And Molly is inconsolable. I managed to get them all to go rest for a while.” He put his arms around her and held her close. He never wanted the two of them to go through what the older couple was experiencing. He had only been engaged less than a day and he was already worrying about children they hadn’t even thought of having.

“I think we should wait to make our big announcement until after the funeral.” Draco said quietly. They hadn’t even told anyone yet.

“You’re right. Maybe we’ll announce it next weekend.” She said as she took Draco’s hand and led him upstairs to his room. They quietly opened his door and she put a locking and silencing charm on it after they entered. She led him over to the big bed and gently directed him to sit down. She knelt down in front of him and took off his trainers. She directed him to lie down and she kicked off her shoes and joined him. They held each other close with her head on his chest and his chin resting in her hair. They both fell asleep that way for a short time.

Draco woke to her hair tickling his nose. He knew he needed to get the public relations staff together and get a statement prepared. He kissed the top of her head, “Come along love, we have a busy evening ahead of us.”

The witch yawned and stretched, “Miles to go before we sleep.” She quoted sleepily. “I’ll get Arthur and meet you in the library.”

As he entered the library again he threw in floo powder and called out Minister for Magic reception area. “Hello Lavender.” he said.

“Hello Draco. I’m afraid the Minister is not in, he was called away on an emergency.” She replied with a smile.

“I know, he asked me to contact his PR staff.” the blonde replied.

“Oh that would be Basil Perkins. I will get him for you.” She replied happily.

Draco turned on his brilliant smile and thanked her. He saw her step out of the room and then return with a small mousey looking wizard.

“Hello Mr. Perkins I’m Draco Malfoy and the Minister has asked me to retrieve you. He is in need of your services on a rather delicate matter.” Draco said smoothly.

“Of course, I knew he had been called away on urgent family business.” He stepped though the green flames. He looked around appreciatively at the richly appointed room.

“Welcome to Malfoy Manor.” Draco stated graciously. He was used to people being a little gobsmacked when they first saw his home.

Hermione and Arthur were sitting on the sofa talking. “Hello Basil. I’m sorry to say that a family tragedy had made it imperative that we do some political damage control.” Draco noticed that Arthur looked grief stricken but was dry eyed and his voice was steady. Draco had to admire him for staying so steady amidst the chaos.

Hermione came to Draco and put her arm around him. “May I speak to you a moment?” she asked quietly. At his nod she led him out onto the patio.

“I was talking to Arthur and he said that they would bury Percy tomorrow. He also said that this would blow over when the next big news story came along. I know you may not like the idea but we could provide the next big news story. I know we didn’t want to make a big fuss about the engagement but if we did it might to help this nightmare blow over.” she looked at him hopefully.

“You really are a very bright witch. I don’t mind yelling my love for you from the top of the tallest tower. Of course we can make a big deal out of our engagement. Let’s go in and make the suggestion.” He said with a fond smile. He put his arm around her and led her back into the room.

The next hour was spent in discussion on how to best announce the situation. The appropriate news people were told a conference would be held at the Ministers office that evening. As the plans were finalized the fire glowed green and Severus’ very serious face could be seen.

“Yes Severus?” Hermione asked as she crossed to the fire. This could not be good; he had said they were done for the day.

“Please step through I have more information for you.” He said quietly and stepped back to give her room to come through.

Turning to the other occupants of the room she excused herself and stepped into his office at the ministry. “What’s happened?” she asked with dread in her voice.

“The signature at the Longbottom’s had been identified. It was Percy.” The dark haired wizard said gravely. He knew it was hard enough on the Weasleys without adding this.

“Arthur will need to be told. He’s making a statement in about an hour. This could kill his political career.” the witch answered. She sat down heavily in a chair and looked at the top of his desk.

“Well then I suggest we go break the news to him. He will need to adjust his statement to the press.” The wizard said as he stood.

Hours later it was well past midnight when a very exhausted group stumbled into the Manor. The press conference had gone as well as it could. Arthur immediately excused himself to bed. Draco and Hermione walked arm in arm up to Draco’s room. They both felt as if they hadn’t slept in three days. In Hermione’s case it was close to the truth. The two of them barely pulled off their clothes before cuddling close and falling asleep.

Hermione awoke early the next morning and rolled over to see her lover sleeping peacefully. The early morning light was reflecting off of his platinum hair. His face looked so relaxed and there was a small smile on his lips. She couldn’t help leaning over and planting a soft kiss on his lips. She felt his smile widen as she pulled away. His arms reached around her and pulled her close. He opened his eyes and she noticed they were the blue of summer skies at the moment.

“Good morning future Mrs. Malfoy.” he murmured as he captured her lips for a kiss. Goddess, she could get used to waking up like this every morning. As she returned his kiss he deepened it causing their tongues to duel for supremacy.

He rolled her onto her back and supported his upper body on his elbows as his fingers played in the long curls of her hair. He snuggled his morning erection against her warm apex. She opened her legs just a slight bit more so that he could enter her slowly as he kissed down her throat to the top of her breast. He hesitated there and left a dark love bite just over her heart. “Mine” he muttered as his lips and teeth traveled the rest of the way to hard dusky nipple. He began to pump in and out of her slowly, withdrawing until just the tip was in her then pushing his way back in to the hilt.

He watched as she tilted her head back into the pillows with her eyes closed in ecstasy. “And what a great morning it is.” She breathed. His breath caught in his throat when she opened her eyes and he saw all the passion and love shinning in them.

He touched his forehead to hers and began to stoke in and out of her in earnest. As he felt himself start to spasm with release her muscles began to quiver and he felt her go over the edge with him.

As they lay there trying to get their breath back they heard people moving down the corridor toward the stairs. Hermione, being used to sharing a house with the Weasley clan, was able to identify the sound as the twins. “It’s time to get a move on my love that was the twins. Hopefully, they are more interested in breakfast than mischief.” she said as she stood up and headed for the shower. Draco followed right behind hoping for some fun in the shower.

He wasn’t disappointed. They took turned shampooing each others hair and soaping each others bodies. As Hermione worked her way down his chest and rippled abs with a soapy cloth she gracefully dropped to her knees. Draco took a deep breath as she took his already hard member into her mouth. She used her hands and the washcloth to continue soaping and stroking his heavy sac and thighs. She never lost the rhythm of sliding her tongue along the sensitive underside of his cock as it moved deep into her throat and back to her lips. It didn’t take long and he was shooting pulse after pulse down her throat. He leaned heavily against the shower wall as she stood up and kissed him thoroughly.

Breakfast was a quiet affair until Ginny looked at Hermione’s left hand as she passed the toast. With a shriek she exclaimed, “Hermione, it’s gorgeous!” She grabbed her hand and looked at the ring. Molly rose from her seat and rushed over to get a good look at the ring as well.

“It’s beautiful darling!” Molly said. “When were you going to tell us?”

“We decided night before last but with all the excitement yesterday the time just didn’t seem right.” Hermione said. Her eyes traveled to Draco who was looking like cat that got the canary. Her gaze moved on to the other people at the table and saw happy smiles on everyone’s faces.

“When, how, where? Give me details woman!” Ginny exclaimed. She was wildly happy for her best friend. After her git of a brother had dumped Hermione for Lavender Brown back in 6th year she hadn’t dated much. Ginny had been concerned that her best friend would be an old spinster.

Smiling Hermione said, “Come on over to the cottage and we will get ready together and I’ll fill you in on all the details.” For the first time she was going to be able to talk about it with her friend. They stood up and grabbed Molly’s hand as well and headed out the door. “Come on Mum I’ll need your help with all of this.” Hermione said as they dragged the older woman along. For the first time since the tragedy began Molly smiled and followed her girls.

A/N Up next a very busy week for our Hermione. Thank you for the words of encouragement in your reviews. This story has meandered down a path I didn’t foresee at first but it will get back on track soon. Please let me know how you like it.