A Lamb to the Slaughter

Witchling

She had done it. She had made her magic bow to her!

Hermione couldn't help but laugh as she leaned back and dusted her hands off on her jeans.

It had been weeks since she started gardening, and she had barely had any luck.

Until she read Luna Lovegood's very helpful (though terribly odd) notes on not just willing her magic into something, but pairing her magic with a spell. According to Luna, the nargles and pixies whispered spells and enchantments to her, and she wrote each of them down, though there was only a total of eleven.

"Herbivicus," Hermione had whispered. She had almost yelped when a pulse of blue light left her fingertips and sank into the soil. Slowly, before her eyes, she had watched the smallest green bud rise from the ground.

"I can't believe it." Hermione said aloud as she stood. "I can't believe I did it."

"And what did you do, witchling?" Lucius drawled beside her.

It didn't startle her. She had heard the back door close and footsteps on the gravel. It did surprise her that it was Lucius, though.

"I'm allowed to use my magic as much as I want to, right?"

"We won't restrict you from using it if that's why you're hiding whatever it is you're doing with the dirt and some out of season seeds in the middle of October."

Hermione sighed as she stood, thinking back to Lavender's journal and how she seemed to believe there was more to the Malfoy's. She caught Lucius' curled lip as he eyed her jeans and jumper. She knew he didn't like them, but she didn't care. It felt familiar and comfortable and like an extra layer of armor for her to have them on.

"I'm practicing." Hermione admitted. "I want to understand what this magic inside of me can do."

"And how did you figure this out?" He gestured to the small burst of greenery that had risen between her fingers.

Hermione considered lying, but Lucius seemed like the kind of man that already knew the answer to whatever question he asked. Lying would only humiliate her, and make her seem suspicious.

"In the library I found three journals written by past witches. One of them wrote down some spells, and I'm testing them out on the garden. Trying to grow carrots, berries, beans, watermelon."

He raised a pale brow. "Watermelon?"

Hermione shrugged. "I want a challenge. I don't want to believe it was by nature, I need to know it was me that made these things grow."

Lucius gave her plot of dirt a once-over before turning his attention back to her.

"As thrilling as this is, I'm not here for mere pleasantries and soft small talk." She watched as he pulled a thick cream envelope out of his robe pocket. On the blue wax seal was a snapping kraken. "You have your first yearly visit. House Nott has summoned you to arrive tomorrow morning."

____

Draco could taste her fear on his tongue, a tainted wine that he wanted to spew out.

"Can you hear her thoughts from here?" His mother moved to stand beside him. He could see his father conversing with Hermione, but through the window he didn't understand what he was saying. Draco knew what the main gist of it was, though. His father had come to tell him first.

"Not unless I focus." Draco admitted. "I have learned to build my walls up."

Narcissa looked at him from the corner of her eye. "But her emotions still comes through?"