Matched

CHAPTER ONE: The Match Is Made


‘Those things that do not kill you only make you stronger’ or so the saying goes. Problem was, he had tried to kill her once, and she couldn’t see how that could possibly make her stronger.

Hermione sat on the wide, sweeping terrace of her new home and stared out at the lake. The moon was high and full, and the stars were bright and twinkling, it was all in all a beautiful night. It was such a shame that the rest of the day had been a disaster. She never imagined that her wedding day would break her heart.

She couldn’t help but be bitter over the situation she now found herself in. The ministry had decreed that all muggleborn witches and wizards who were unmarried and not in committed relationships, were to be matched with purebloods. It was all very thoroughly researched, they relied on astrology and numerology as well as DNA testing to make certain their progeny would be assets to the wizarding community. She couldn’t fault their methods of matching, but she didn’t have to be happy about HER match.

Hermione Granger had been matched, and as of eleven that morning, married to the widower, Lucius Malfoy. She snorted softly, sipping her wine as she thought about the sad turn her life had taken. She had no choice, it was either marry him, or leave the magical community forever. She had nothing to return to in the muggle world, this was where she belonged.

She tried to look on the brighter side of the situation, tried to focus on the pros instead of the cons. Not easy when your new husband was a high ranking death eater who had tried, on more than one occasion to rid the world of your existence. But he was wealthy, that was a plus now that Umbridge had made it impossible for her to work in the ministry, and he was intelligent, that would come in handy as she really couldn’t abide stupid people. She couldn’t deny that he was attractive, ridiculously so if she were to be honest, and if the rumors were true, his sexual prowess was without compare.

Lucius hadn’t exactly been thrilled at the prospect of soiling his perfect, “mud” free bloodline with a muggleborn bride. She had wondered if he were going to be physically ill when they had been brought before the pairing committee and informed of their match. He had agreed, though he protested violently. There was no way that Lucius Malfoy would make it in the muggle world and so, he accepted his bride.


He hadn’t shown any animosity towards her for the situation, but she had definitely gotten an earful from him over the ministry’s actions in regard to the marital decree. He had actually been quite pleasant, all things considered. He had helped her make arrangements for the move to his home from hers, and had set up private accounts for her use at Gringotts and all the local shops. He even surprised her at the service that morning when he presented her with an incredibly beautiful wedding ring that he had made especially for her. She looked down at the gold band and diamond engagement ring on her finger, still amazed by his thoughtfulness, but somehow suspected his intentions were more along the lines of branding her as property as opposed to giving her a gift in honor of their nuptuals.

Her wedding had been nothing like the dream she had had since her childhood. There was no white dress, no orange blossoms, no string quartet playing soft music. It had been a quick and simple ceremony performed in the ministry by an officiate of the pairing committee. Afterwards he had taken her to lunch at the Dragon Inn, a high end establishment that served only the wealthiest clientele.


Lucius had said very little beyond asking her what she would like to eat, and commenting idly on the weather. She had expected them to set up the ground rules for their marriage. What did he expect of her? What did she expect from him?


He had walked them to the apparation point near Diagon Alley and after wrapping his arms about her waist, he apparated them to the foyer of his home, their home now. He showed her to her rooms, situated next to his with a connecting door, and excused himself. She couldn’t complain about her accommodations. Her room, as well as much of the rest of the house, had been redecorated for her, and it appeared he had even considered her personality when having it done.

Instead of the elaborate gilded furniture that had belonged to Narcissa, the room was now filled with more simple cherry furniture that appealed to her. The bedding and draperies were a deep hunter green and the floors were covered with plush Persian rugs. Several bookcases were placed in a corner near the fireplace and were filled with books from his library, along with a large leather chair and ottoman for her reading enjoyment.

She took her time exploring her new space, putting her clothes and few personal possessions away. She ended up having dinner alone as Lucius had not come down from his study. So, now she sat, all alone in the moonlight wondering where her life would go from here.




Lucius stood in the window of his study and watched his new bride contemplate Merlin knows what in the moonlight. No doubt she was internally berating the events of the last several days. She had looked completely horrified when the pairing committee announced that they had been matched. He wondered if she would run, choose to hand over her wand as opposed to accepting him as her mate.


She had surprised him that day. Hermione didn’t say anything, she just turned and trained those warm whiskey colored eyes on him for several moments. He had felt curiously exposed beneath her gaze, after all, he had attempted to kill her. Would have, had she proven less clever, less talented. No sense in denying the truth of it. He had been an ass, completely controlled by his elitist pureblood superiority complex. Still was an ass in many ways, though he would never admit to it out loud.

For several long moments she simply stared at him and for a second he thought she might be catatonic with shock of it all. With a resigned sigh, she had turned back to the committee and picked up her quill to sign her name to the contract. He himself had not even considered the alternative, there was no way he would give up his life in the magical world to live amongst the filth of muggle London. A muggleborn bride was the lesser of two evils, at least she was a witch, and a strong one at that.


He had married her a few mornings after. No formal ceremony, no guests, no reception. He had simply met her at the ministry and gone through the civil ceremony, he hadn’t even bothered to kiss his new bride, merely signed the registry and escorted her to lunch. He wasn’t sure what he wanted from this arrangement. She wasn’t hard on the eyes. Of course she did not possess the ethereal beauty of Narcissa, nor the pure, unblemished features of the majority of the pureblood witches in his acquaintance, but she was not without her own certain charm.

His bride was rather short. Her head barely reached his shoulders and she had been wearing heels at the time of their marriage. Her hair was forced, and he imagined charmed, into a tight French braid at the back of her head. He seemed to recall that her excessively long hair tended to be a bit….fluffy when she wore it loose. He would rather shave his head than have hair so unruly as that. She was a rather curvy little bit of a woman, and that of course held a certain appeal to a man of his appetites. If, and at the moment he was still undecided if that IF would become a WHEN, he took her to his bed at least he would not worry that she would break beneath him.

The number one benefit he supposed was that she was practical, she had seemed completely appalled by the amount of money he had deposited for her personal use, as well as the accounts he had set up for her in the finest shops of their world. She didn’t dress elaborately; one might call her somewhat plain if the truth be known. He figured she would be more likely to dent his finances by purchasing books as opposed to an obscenely large wardrobe. She was intelligent, that was a positive, because if there was one thing Lucius couldn’t stand, it was stupid people.