Lust, War, and... Love?

Chapter 13: Library Musings

     Hermione had spent most of Saturday in the library but her scant findings hardly satisfied her. Piles of books surrounded her parchments in front of her. When Hermione lowered her head to the table, she could imagine being walled off from the rest of the world in a castle built of books.

The last two weeks were rather uneventful, save for the four new Kama Sutra positions which Malfoy got her to try. Two of them were disappointing, one was fairly gratifying and they repeated it, and one was so-so. Draco blamed the unexpected self-destruction of an old desk and the hard stone floor in that dungeon room for one of the fiascos. Hermione wasn't very convinced though.

She diligently marked their dates in her Muggle-style daily planner with a single M letter for conspiracy. Mostly, they met in an abandoned dungeon chamber which was way past the Hufflepuff House entrance and well behind the kitchens. No one ever ventured so far underground in that part of the castle except spiders. The Room of Requirement was much more comfortable, but it was dangerously close to McGonagall's office and the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower.

A neat M graced a time slot this late afternoon in Hermione's planner. The timing was perfect. Hermione could do homework with Ron and Harry after dinner, relatively free from the potion effects. She had almost persuaded Thornton to go with Goldstein on Monday instead of suffering with the morose Weasley through their Saturday patrol. Hermione looked forward to a stroll with Ron around the quiet castle at night so much... When she thought of his blue eyes and sweet freckles, a fuzzy warm feeling filled her heart. It made her want to purr like a cat.

Hermione had been working hard to solve several mysteries at the same time. The search for any information on the Half-Blood Prince proved fruitless. Malfoy was very fond of the Muffliato charm, and it perplexed Hermione a lot when Harry eagerly adopted the spell from his Potions textbook. She hated the fact that Harry willingly put himself on the same page with Malfoy. Hermione ploughed through sources on pureblood families and wizarding nobility but found nothing on the Half-Blood Prince. Nevertheless, she still harboured a deep suspicion that the dodgy Prince was somehow connected to the Malfoys.

Then there was the list of spells from Malfoy's bag. It didn't take Hermione long to establish that most of the spells were for mending severe magical damage, which fit in with Malfoy's mysterious visit to Borgin & Burkes. But what was the Shocking Spell for? What was Malfoy going to destroy? What was he trying to repair, after all?

The research on Heorte Lustbaere was disconcerting. Every time a book mentioned the potion, it looked like a sure-fire recipe for a disaster because a wrong person invariably ended up drinking the brew. The most infamous example was the case of Tristan and Isolde. The cost of consuming the potion was loss of kingdoms for two medieval kings, a death by hanging for one hapless 18th century duchess and her lowly blacksmith lover, and an impeachment for a President of a foreign country. Which was far from consoling to Hermione.

Hermione raised her head and peeked around over the piles of her books. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of Malfoy seated with Crabbe and Goyle at a table in the far end of the room. Draco had been wearing a gloomy countenance for the past two weeks. This afternoon he looked no different either. Hermione tried to engage Malfoy in a conversation during their dates but he responded chiefly in monosyllables. Once she went as far as to rhapsodise about her fascination with broom rides on moonlit nights while they were trying to twist their bodies into that tricky Kama Sutra position. He shut her up by slamming himself on top of her and brutally snogging her. The timely collapse of the desk under them saved her from being strangled by the Death Eater. They shagged each other numb in the furniture wreckage, which left Hermione slightly disoriented for the rest of the day. Could the windows, suddenly sealed per Dumbledore's order in the Astronomy Tower, be so disturbing a memory for Malfoy?

"What's this mountain of books for?" Ginny's voice gave Hermione a start.

"I'm trying to find out more about the Half-Blood Prince," she mumbled and pushed a stack of books away to make room for her friend.

Ginny sat down and picked up a volume. The Art of Love Potions in Medieval Wales. The redhead stared at her curiously.

"Ahem..." Hermione cleared her throat. "See, the Half-Blood Prince was a skilled potioneer, and probably brewed love potions too."

"Love potions are such a slick thing." Ginny leafed through the book thoughtfully. "Mum says so. Once you stop giving the potion to the other person and the effect is gone, he ends up disliking you even worse than before. Weird, right?"

"Probably because the people get too close for comfort." Hermione strategically moved a stack of other books on the love magic away from Ginny. "They learn too much bad stuff about each other."

"Could be," Ginny agreed. "I can't stand Corner now, really."

"How's Dean to you?"

"He's ok. I'm giving him a break. We snogged right after the lunch."

"A break?" Hermione glanced at her friend.

"Well, he got way too excited. I let him go and get himself off just now." Ginny was nonchalant about boys as usual. Apparently, growing up with a horde of brothers steeled her a lot.

"I think Dean is nice," Hermione muttered.

"Yeah," Ginny replied blankly and began rearranging her parchments.

Hermione knew perfectly well what was behind Ginny's deadpan tone. She still nursed her old crush on Harry. He was her dream hero and valiant saviour. But Harry was hopelessly lame with girls. In Hermione's opinion, he could actually benefit from a dose of Heorte Lustbaere. Ginny would have no qualms about satisfying his lust. Unlike Hermione, she was always more forward about boys and sex. No wonder, since Molly Weasley was very much down-to-earth on most touchy subjects. Hermione wished she could ask someone like Mrs. Weasley about the magic-induced lust, but there was no way to tell her about Malfoy. She'd pass it on to Mr. Weasley, and they'd have the whole Order of the Phoenix up in arms in no time. Her own Mum knew nothing about magic and was of no help in her mess with Malfoy. Hermione sighed and began looking over Ginny's History of Magic essay.

"Ginny, your family are all purebloods, right?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Well, I've been looking through some books on wizarding aristocracy, and it seems the Weasleys were treated rather oddly."

"Don't say!" Ginny turned to her friend. "They always said Weasleys screwed up the wizarding order the worst!"

"Well, they disowned everyone who married a Weasley."

"Mum told me it took Uncles Gideon and Fabian two months to persuade the grandparents to let her visit home after she eloped with Dad."

"Why?"

"My folks say we never cared much about the codes of magic." Ginny abandoned her homework.

"Yes, there's something on those family codes." Hermione was now all curiosity.

"Right, every old family has its own code of magic passed from a generation to generation. They guard it like crazy. When a wizard and witch marry, their family codes of magic join. Everyone looks for someone whose family magic can strengthen his own inherited family magic. Some clans have really powerful codes of magic running in them. And some other families are outright cursed and no one wants to have anything with them."

"So what's about your family, Ginny?"

"We had some ancient scripts for centuries, but no one really bothered about making the right matches." Ginny was visibly pleased to share her knowledge with her Muggleborn friend. "Almost every pureblood marriage is arranged by the family. My parents eloped because the Prewett grandparents didn't even want to hear the Weasley name."

"And what families have the most powerful codes?"

"The Malfoys, the Greengrasses, the Bletchleys, the Macmillans, the Bones." Ginny paused, counting on her fingers. "Oh, yes, the Lestranges, the Notts, the Scrimgeours... I don't remember them all. The Blacks had a very strong magic too."

"I wonder why the Malfoys hate your family so much." Hermione wanted to find out as much as possible.

"There's an old legend that a Malfoy fell in love with a Weasley centuries ago. Lots of duelling and fighting over it."

"I think it's just silly to carry it on for so long, Ginny."

"Mum says every generation keeps adding more to the fire. It never stops. Aunt Muriel told me that the Malfoys put a curse on the Weasleys over it. My ancestors cursed the Malfoys back then."

"What curses?" Hermione was fascinated.

"The Weasleys lost their wealth, and no girls were born for many generations. The Malfoys haven't had more than one child for many generations. Always a son. They went to the Blacks because they were rumoured to have a strong set of female magic in the family. Lots of formidable witches. But it didn't break the curse." Ginny chuckled. "The magic of the House of Black helped the Weasleys instead."

"How?"

"I'm the first girl born into the Weasley family. It's because my Weasley grandpa married my Black grandma. Her fertility magic broke the old curse."

"I can't believe the Malfoys and the Weasleys cursed each others..." Hermione was intrigued. "I heard Malfoy is engaged to Parkinson."

"Now that's weird," Ginny giggled. "The Parkinsons are purebloods but Pansy is such a troll."

"Maybe it's because no one else wanted a Malfoy?"

"Almost any pureblood girl would be on cloud nine if the Malfoys choose her, Hermione!" Ginny spoke with authority. "Aunt Muriel thinks there's some sort of a game. She gossips with all those old pureblood witches."

"Would you be on cloud nine if a Malfoy proposes to you?" Hermione didn't miss the chance to pick at her friend.

"I'm a Weasley, Hermione!" Ginny retorted.

"The ancient feud is still going strong, I see." Hermione chortled. "What are those family codes of magic?"

"It's the magic that protect and helps everyone in the clan. A family collects those spells, enchantments and what not over many generations, and most of them are kept secret. Only the members of the family can know and use them. Some families have really strange rituals like for a marriage or child naming. Dad says many of those traditions are outright Dark Magic. Like marriage contracts sealed by blood. But the Ministry lets the families carry their magic codes on, no matter what."

"Why? If it's a Dark magic?"

"Most of it is secret anyway. Many big shots in the Ministry are purebloods, and they want to keep their family magic going."

Hermione glanced at the wall clock: it was about time for her to go.

"Your essay is great. I corrected only a couple of dates." She handed it back to Ginny and gathered her books. "I'm going down to the kitchens for a snack - I'm really hungry."

"Say hi to Dobby for me," Ginny muttered as she skimmed through her essay.


Draco shot a quick look sideways and spotted Granger who headed to the exit after depositing her obscenely huge stack of books on Madam Pince's desk. In about half and hour he would follow her to the dungeons. The memory of their last date made his longing grow.

It had been two excruciating weeks for Draco Malfoy. The advice on fixing the Cabinet that Borgin gave him in his last letter was of almost no help for Draco. The new cracks mended extremely slowly, and some spells on his list plainly didn't work. This morning Draco checked on the Cabinet and was very much upset to see that a few cracks grew wider instead of disappearing overnight.

The dreaded murder plot did not progress well either. Draco hated Dumbledore with all of his heart, but the Headmaster also terrified him the most. He held the power that even the Dark Lord seemed to envy. Draco's eyes rarely met Dumbledore's penetrating stare during a chance encounter in a corridor. His tone of voice and expression of his face always left Draco with odd emotions. At times he felt like throwing all caution to the wind and laying everything in the open to the Headmaster on the spot. Because of it, Draco did his best to avert his eyes and stuck to short polite responses whenever Dumbledore engaged him in a small talk.

Katz was enthusiastic about the enchanted Galleons and fired off missives whenever he was in the mood for it. At the same time Draco's chief objective was to stall the whole assassination plan for as long as possible in a hope to get rid of Sebastian at some point. He couldn't decide what to do with Granger. If Draco could Imperiuse her by himself, he could make sure she wouldn't get hurt. But after the fiasco and the horror during the meeting Draco wasn't certain that he'd be ever able to cast the Imperius on a human again. On the other hand, he didn't want Katz to come near Hermione. Never. Not even over his dead body. Sebastian would treat her the same as the Muggle captive. The mere thought of it sent shivers down Draco's spine.

This last Friday Draco thought he saw a ray of sun in the dark clouds when McGonagall handed him a detention on the Hogsmeade weekend. He promptly informed Katz that he wouldn't be able to make it out of the castle. The sunbeam faded the same day after dinner when he received Sebastian's reply. Goyle Sr. says son can show me HG in 3Brmstcks. SK. In less than fifteen minutes a new message arrived. Need poison. What kind? Draco groaned upon reading it. He hadn't thought of the poison yet. He hated the very idea of using dangerous venoms around Granger. Still, Draco had to accept the harsh reality and owled Borgin for suggestions the same night. He stressed that it had to be something very safe to carry around but fast to act upon the delivery. Something appropriate for a girl to have.

Draco looked at Crabbe and Goyle, who were straining their minuscule brains over their fifth year Potions homework. He wished he could know who spilled the beans about the lust potion incident. Crabbe and Goyle stood firm that they didn't let a single word slip. It was quite convincing to Draco since he knew that neither of their fathers would be pleased to admit to Bellatrix or his Mum that their sons pulled a prank on Draco Malfoy. Nevertheless, there still was that unsettling letter he received from Mother earlier this week.

... Leticia keeps telling me that you continue ignoring you fiancée. I checked the engagement contract and it indicated that an act of infidelity had happened. Pansy suspected a certain girl but I did my best to disprove it to her mother. Simply because the idea of your getting together with that girl is totally ridiculous.

It's normal for a boy of your age to develop crushes and kiss different girls occasionally. But you must keep in mind the precariousness of your and your family's situation. You need to adhere to the contract with Pansy. We all are under a great strain now that guests come to the Manor frequently, and Dad is suffering in Azkaban.

I assured Leticia that nothing major had happened and the fidelity clause had not been breached. She can be quite dumb in certain magical matters. Don't let any passing fancy take over you now. A small kiss or a few minutes of cuddling with Pansy could go a long way - you do not need to be with her all the time...

His clever Mum opted not to name the girl Pansy suspected, which made Draco seethe with frustration. The fact that the contract indicated the infidelity on his part bothered him a little but not a huge lot. Nothing really bad happened to him after he shagged Granger so many times. But Draco still had a lingering worry that the magical punishment could come upon him full force anytime.

As he lay sleepless in his bed last night, Draco pondered how to deal with Granger. Granted, she was a Mudblood and thence vastly inferior to the true pureblood wizarding race. His parents would tell him so in no uncertain terms. But they were also the last persons in the world with whom he would want to discuss Granger. The girl already held too much for him now. He needed her every other day at least. Even in public, Draco would steal a glance at her during a class or a meal. He knew full well she wouldn't bother to give him an extra look in the presence of others. It was he who shamefully yearned for her attention. They exchanged brief sentences through the enchanted parchments and it sufficed for Granger. He could try to insult her and bring her low in order to amend his humiliating situation but with Granger it was futile. She didn't seem to care.

He hated Hermione for having a part in his Dad's defeat in the Department of Mysteries, and he still longed to have her in his hands and command her body in bed. Dad was always an undisputed authority for him, and Draco craved the girl who disregarded his father's superiority. The whole thing was driving him nuts.

When Granger waxed poetic about broom rides and moonlit nights during their last date, the disturbing memory she brought up pushed him to the edge. Desperate to stop his mental nightmare, he hurled her down. She fought back and her teeth drew blood from his lower lip. The rickety desk crashed, and they slid all the way down, their overheated bodies welded together. They coupled insanely, oblivious to the splintered wood around them. He let out all of his pent-up agony, and she ground herself onto him fiercely as if she wanted to devour him to the last bit. Then they lay together in the wreckage, sweaty and panting. He was so thirsty, he cast the Aquamenti with his wand. She put her mouth close to his to lap up the clear water, and he kissed her under the cool stream. Her tongue probed his bleeding bite. She reached for her wand and whispered the Episkey. He licked his healed lip. Then she drank more of the water pouring from his wand, and he watched the crystal rivulets race along her delicate chin, neck and down to her soft bosom...

Lust swelled up inside him. Draco glanced at the wall clock. Time to go and shag his girl. He'd deal with the Hogsmeade weekend quandary afterwards.