Love and Monster Ch. 10 (Patreon)

“Hermione, could I have a moment?”

The Gryffindors were heading down for breakfast. Hermione had been keeping her head down, lost in her own world, when Draco's voice snapped her out of it.

“S-Sure.”

She cursed her nerves. She hadn't been doing anything wrong, and it wasn't like Draco knew anyways. She really needed to work on being more sure of herself.

Though, Lavender's advice had worked. Her hair had completely transformed from a dry, bushy mess to a luscious crown of perfectly coiffed curls. She absently ran a hand through her hair as the common room emptied around them.

“I like what you've done with your hair.” Draco said, noticing how her fingers had been curling around it.

“Thank you.” Hermione said with a bright smile as they found themselves alone.

Draco let out a breath as he reached out and grabbed her arm. Hermione tensed, but chose not to tell him to let go of her, even though it made her uncomfortable.

“I know.”

Hermione felt a lump in her throat. Her blood ran cold as she tried to hide the hitch in her breath.

“What are you talking about?”

Draco's eyes narrowed. “Don't lie to me, Hermione. I know about you and those creatures. I saw you with my own two eyes.”

His grip on her arm tightened, not to a painful extent, but close.

Hermione snatched her arm away. On the inside, she was a ball of nerves, but she stood her ground, glaring defiantly back at Draco.

Her parents had not raised her to be a doormat.

“So what if I was hanging out with them? And I would appreciate it if you didn't call them creatures.”

Draco's eyes almost popped out of his skull at Hermione's defiance. “Are you insane? Do you realize what they are? Do you realize how it would look if someone were to find out-”

“I have a mind of my own, Draco. I know exactly what would happen, and I think that's wrong and bigoted. Isn't the whole point of them being here for us to learn how to coexist?”

“WE CAN NEVER COEXIST WITH THOSE DEMONS!”

Draco caught himself, realizing just how much he'd raised his voice. His fist was clenched and his face was red with rage.

“Hermione, listen, you don't understand.” Draco held his hand out as Hermione backed away from him, inching her way to the portrait hole.

“I-I'm leaving.”

“Listen to me!” Draco lurched forward. He made a half attempt at snatching at her before stopping himself. “You didn't grow up in our world, you don't know them like we do.”

“Do you really know them, Draco? Do you know them or do you just know what you've been told? What you've been telling me? I'm not stupid, you know, I'm not just your little muggleborn pet, I know when I'm being manipulated.”

Draco was left spluttering. “W-What? Pet? What do you even-”

“I'm leaving.” Hermione turned around and stomped over to the portrait hole.

Draco remained rooted to the spot as the portrait hole swung open and Hermione made a quick exit.

He felt rage. White hot rage. How dare she disrespect him like this? Throw his good will back at his face.

He should go down to the Gryffindor table and expose her, make her an outcast.

Draco daydreamed about how it would go. He'd tell everyone, rumors would spread, they would all shun her, they'd star bullying her, then she'd get what was coming to her.

The more he ran through this fantasy, the more the vindictive smile fell off his face.

He didn't want for that to happen. He didn't want for Hermione to be harassed.

Draco clenched his fists, upturning a chess set someone had left on a table in his anger.

Why was everything so complicated?

…

Hermione had been eating her breakfast, trying to control her trembling hand as one of the girls tried talking to her about last week's potions quiz.

She'd felt so free after putting Draco in his place, but as she'd made her way down to the Great Hall, her confidence had faded.

She held her breath when the blonde boy came into view. Her whole body tensed, ready for the spectacle that was about to take place.

Draco sat down next to Neville, not saying a word to anyone, and began to fill up his plate, not once glancing at Hermione.

After a few moments passed and Hermione confirmed that Draco wasn't about to expose her to all their peers, Hermione resumed her breakfast, an uneasy feeling settling into the pit of her stomach.

…

Harry had run around the forest for years, but there was something about doing it when you were not supposed to that added an element of excitement to the whole thing.

Susan was keeping close behind him, doing a much better job of being sneaky than he would have ever thought of, considering how you could usually tell she was coming into a room thirty seconds before she actually made it.

After Harry and Fleur had revealed their discovery, the girls had all been excited at the prospect of being able to sneak back home.

Of course, there was still a danger of getting caught, either by their mothers on one side or Fawkes on the other, and so they agreed it would be smart to not all go in together. They chose to keep their expeditions at groups no bigger than three.

Today, though, it was just Susan and him. It was their date, and Susan had been all for a trip to the forest.

She had wanted to fly high above the tree-line the moment they'd entered through the fault, but Harry's grip on her arm had been enough to remind her that they did not want Shui or Aurora catching her soaring around.

And so, the two of them were slinking about the forest under the cover of bushes, trees and tall grass. Harry got so into it, he'd actually felt as if he was being watched at a few points.

“This is fun. Not as fun as facing your opponent down in open battle, but I can see how weaker beings might enjoy it.” Susan said, eyes hyper-focused on the ground, where every twig was practically a land mine.

Harry smiled, taking a moment to observe as big, buxom Susan tried her best to move with cat-like grace.

“Are you laughing at me?” She asked, eyes still not leaving the ground.

“Wouldn't dream of it.” Harry said with a big grin on his face.

They came out onto a small clearing, encircled by trees. Susan let Harry walk ahead of her, and the unsuspecting boy was trudging along, trying to remember where exactly in the forest they were, when he was suddenly forcefully shoved.

“Ah-” Harry's yelp was muffled by a large hand as he found himself stumbling into the hollowed out trunk of a tree, a tree large enough for Susan to fit in snugly with only a little issue.

They were squeezed into the little nook. Susan's leathery wings ended up trapped in behind his back. Her primordial pouch, as she jokingly called it, was pressing up against his stomach. In these close quarters, Harry was reminded of how even though Susan was still small for a dragon, she was much bigger than him.

Their height difference might only be a few inches, but Susan's size was formidable. Harry raised his head to look at her, only for his cheeks to flush as his face ended up perfectly nestled in between her breasts.

“Don't get bashful on me now, Harry.” Susan giggled as she shimmied, rubbing her breasts up against his face. “We did enough date stuff, now its time to get to the good part.”

He wasn't sure that running through the forest constituted a date, but he wasn't about to argue with her. Not when she was rubbing her soft flesh-pillows up against his face.

“Here, let me help you.” Susan closed one eye, tongue sticking out in concentration as her horn began to spark.

“Susan, are you sure you should do that?”

Harry's warning was not heeded, and a bolt of lightning shot off from the end of Susan's horn and began blitzing down her robe.

Harry reared his head back, cringing as he readied himself for the worst, but Susan's spell had been precise, and when her work was done, she'd sliced a perfect little slit down the middle of her top.

“You thought I'd mess it up, Harry? No trust in a warrior?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Come off it, Susan.”

“I know how you can make it up to me.” She smirked, her little fangs poking out from her top and bottom lips as her torn robe slid open.

Harry's mouth fell open as Susan's breasts poked out. They were large for their age, her nipples pink and puffy. He'd seen her in what amounted to a bikini every day for years, and yet this still took his breath away.

Susan pressed forward, and Harry felt the slightest hint of discomfort as his lungs were compressed and breathing became the slightest bit more difficult.

She presented her right breast to him, and after one look at her slightly flushed cheeks, Harry let her nipple slip into his mouth, his lips sealing around her supple flesh as he let his tongue swirl around her sensitive nub.

Susan sucked in a hard breath, and that drove Harry to increase the intensity of his ministrations, opening his mouth wide and taking in more of her breast until her nipple was tickling his uvula.

Harry sucked, his tongue savoring her sweat-tinged flesh while he slobbered all over her breast. Susan moaned, and she kept on pressing him harder and harder against the trunk of the tree.

Susan's breathing was coming short as the flames in her hair flared up. She actually yelped when an ember sparked off her hair and she had to quickly blow it way before it started a fire.

She got herself under control well enough to manage her hair, but her body was witthing against Harry. Her crotch caught against his, and she felt a jolt at the sudden friction of their sexes.

Harry's hands rested on her sides, sinking into her soft, doughy body as he finally pulled back from her breast to come up for breath.

Susan was biting her lip as she stared down at him, her leathery wings wrapping even tighter around him as Harry wondered if she was going to crush him to death or if the tree was going to start cracking under the pressure.

Susan dipped her head down and Harry closed his eyes as their lips joined in a sultry kiss. As expected, Susan was an aggressive kisser, and Harry was content to let her dominate their snog as their tongues met in the middle and intertwined.

“Those fucking centaurs need to be penned in, for all our sakes.”

Their eyes popped open when they heard the incoming voices. They broke their kiss as quietly as they could as they heard the sound of many scuttling legs.

Acromantula.

“Primrose says that Lady Greengrass will talk to the council. They better put their foot down, even those stargazers need to realize how much danger they're putting us in by being reckless.”

Harry and Susan held their breaths as a trio of acromantula passed nearby, trying their hardest not to make a sound.

Up against Harry's back, the trunk of the tree began to crack.

“You guys hear that? I think there's something by that tree.”

“Why the fuck are you going to investigate? There's a monster around and you want to go check out the weird noise?”

“Noted. Lets get out of here and tell Primrose.”

The acromantula's steps quickened considerably as they made a hasty retreat. Susan waited for their steps to fade away completely before she tried backing out of the trunk.

It was a bit of a struggle for her, as even crouching down she found she couldn't go out the way she'd come in. Harry couldn't get to his wand, squeezed in as he was, and so Susan went for Plan A.

Susan's wings somehow managed to slide out from around Harry and curl up against her back before reopening, this time fully free outside of the tree.

Then Susan went to work, thrashing her wings about as their clawed edged scrapes and chipped away at the entrance to the tree.

It was rough, unrefined work, but she managed to cleave off enough of the poor tree to fully back out of the trunk.

Harry stepped out, realizing he'd been sweating profusely from being locked in there with Susan.

“Harry, could you?” Susan gestured towards her robe, which was hanging halfway down her torso.

Harry fished his wand out of his pocket. It took him a little bit of effort to concentrate on mending the robe and not staring vacantly at Susan's breasts, but he managed it.

They retraced their steps, eager to return to the tear before someone else passed through and saw them.

“A monster, huh? What do you think they're talking about?” Harry asked.

Susan shrugged. “Not sure, but it definitely seems like there's some secrets being kept from us.”

Harry didn't like the mischievous look on the girl's face one bit.

“No.”

“What? I haven't even said anything!”

“We're not going to go looking for whatever has those acromantula running scared.” Harry gave Susan a firm look, even as she tried her hardest to pout her way into an adventure.

“In fact, I think we should tell Fawkes about the tear.”

“What?”

“Susan, whatever is going on is dangerous enough to scare adults. We're not going to get ourselves caught up in it.”

Susan huffed. “Fine, but you owe me an extra duel. And some more snogging too!”

Harry snorted. “That'll be no problem.”

They made it to the edge of the wards and slipped in through the slash, running up to the castle, determined to find Fawkes and get things sorted out.

…

As the two hatchlings disappeared up into the castle, the Manticore's golden eyes narrowed as he stood up on his perch high above the trees.

“What has happened to the youth of this world?” He shook his head. “They have been robbed of their sense of adventure.”

He slowly began to descend from the tops, knowing it wouldn't be long before this area was crawling with those persistent creatures, trying to sniff him out.

He dreaded to admit it, but he'd underestimated this new world, he'd underestimated these creatures. They may be shadows of the beings he knew, but they had an intelligence about them that was quite troublesome.

He'd set out on his little game, eager to cause grief on the grandest scale imaginable. Once he'd glimpsed the hatchlings at the edge of the forest, his course of action had been set.

He'd made those tears in the wards, planning to lure the hatchlings into the forest. It should have been easy. Children were always far too curious for their own good. Once he'd rounded them all up together, he would slay them all at once, annihilating all hope for the forest dwellers in one fell swoop.

He hadn't counted on how organized and persistent the creatures would be. He'd thought himself afforded plenty of time, plenty of time to slowly lure the children in and spring his trap.

But he'd barely managed to avoid their constant patrols. They always traveled in groups. The most powerful, their leaders, always made sure to travel in pairs, and the other, weaker ones never moved in groups of less than three. Even the centaurs were constantly monitored.

It meant that he'd had to subsist on small, non-magical vermin. His power was not at its peak, and he knew it would not be much longer until he was discovered.

Worst of all was the damage to his mental state. He was supposed to be the hunter, the ultimate harbinger of death, and while the creatures were suitably terrified of him, this game of cat and mouse was becoming far too slanted in the mouse's favor.

He did not reach his age by being foolish. Those children would be beyond his reach, unless he changed the rules of the game.

Unless he changed the field of battle.

He'd been hesitant to venture outside of the forest and onto the castle. There was a powerful presence there as well, and there was much less cover for him to cloak himself.

But he had other tricks up his sleeve.

He considered opening up a new tear, one large enough for him to fit through, but he quickly discarded that idea. He would need for them to think that he was still in the forest, after all.

He leapt at the existing tear, knowing it was too narrow to fit him through completely.

Only part of him needed to make it.

His outstretched front paws made it through perfectly, along with his head. It was when it was his torso's turn that things got complicated.

“Gah!” He couldn't help the gasp of pain as the edges of the wards ate through his flesh, burning it down to a crisp as he continued to fight, squeezing his body through.

The lower half of his torso was shaven off, along with most of his back legs. He kept his tail ramrod straight, making sure it was not damaged.

He stepped out onto the other side and moved quickly. He didn't have much time, and there was far too much daylight. He could be seen at any moment.

He managed to drag himself across the grounds with his front paws make it to some small bushes halfway to the castle.

This would have to do.

His tail arched back and drove forward once again.

He hissed, trying to keep the sound as low as possible as his stinger pierced his own back.

He breathed slowly and deeply as his tail began to pump venom into his body. Icy coldness spread throughout his being as his organs, muscles, bones and tendons all began to liquefy.

His body deflated like a parade float that had been pierced on its side. As the venom reached his brain and began turning even that into a mushy paste, the Manticore focused on his purpose.

Misery and terror needed to befall those children.

Then, his brain was consumed and he could think no more.

His body turned into a calcified husk, a shell thar began to crack almost immediately.

One gust of wind later, and his ashes were cast out to the wind, leaving nothing behind.

Nothing except for a tiny egg. It was miniscule, small enough to nestle comfortably atop someone's pinky finger, and though it rested amidst the bush like a sitting duck, none of the ants, roaches or grasshoppers nearby dared try and approach it.

…

Fawkes was glaring sternly down at the two children, who were doing their best to look innocent.

“So you discovered this tear today? And you didn't attempt to go into the forest?”

They both shook their heads. “We're not that stupid, Ms. Fawkes.” Susan insisted.

“I would hope not.” Fawkes said with narrowed eyes. She clearly didn't believe them, but knew there was no way to prove their guilt.

Besides, there were much bigger matters at hand.

“Alright, take me to the breach.”

Fawkes followed behind Harry and Susan as they marched their way out of her office. Along the way, they crossed paths with two other Slytherins.

“Lavender, Delphi?” Fawkes blinked in confusion as the two girls startled.

“Ms. Fawkes!”

“Were were you two?”

“Just studying.” Lavender said before she caught sight of Harry and Susan. “Weren't you two supposed to be-”

“We were.” Harry interjected, making a face at Lavender, “But we discovered this weird hole in the wards around the forest, so we came to tell Fawkes.”

Delphi's big yellow eyes went wide as she adjusted the bridge of her glasses. “Oh… wow… yeah, that sounds pretty dangerous.”

Fawkes sighed. “You children are lucky that this is such a serious matter, otherwise, you'd be finding yourselves in a world of trouble.”

“What do you-”

Lavender pinched Delphi's side, leaning in to whisper. “Best way not to incriminate yourself is to not say anything at all.”

“Come along then.” Fawkes said as the four followed behind her.

They walked out onto the grounds, where Lavender and Delphi pretended not to know exactly where the breach was as Harry and Susan led Fawkes to the spot.

Fawkes frowned deeply as she contemplated the child-sized tear in the wards.

“Thank you. Return to the castle, please.”

Her tone was deeply serious, and none of them felt like arguing with her about it. So, the four returned to the castle as Fawkes pulled out her wand and began work on repairing the tear.

…

“You told her? But I didn't even get to go through!” Vulpie whined petulantly as the others rolled their eyes.

“He made a prudent choice.” Daphne said evenly. “Whatever this monster is, it must be dangerous if it has the entire forest on alert.”

“Ms. Fawkes wasn't taking it lightly at all.” Delphi said. “I've never seen her that serious.”

Fleur huffed. “I cannot believe our mothers have been hiding something so big from us.”

“I mean, I'm sure they had their reasons.” Harry said. “Didn't want us to worry, or they thought we'd do something stupid.”

“Likely both.” Daphne said. “Now that the truth has come to light, I'm sure we will be informed.”

“We didn't tell Fawkes the part about sneaking into the forest, she doesn't know we know.” Susan told her.

Lavender pouted. “So they're just going to act like we don't know and not tell us? That's lame!”

Delphi's head dropped as everyone shot Lavender incredulous looks.

“What?” The plant girl asked weakly, “Why are you guys looking at me.”

“Oh. I don't know, maybe because you and Delphi have been up to something for weeks now.” Vulpie said.

“What? That's ridiculous! I just need some extra tutoring and-”

“We've been hanging out with Hermione.” Delphi interjected.

“Hermione? Granger? From Gryffindor?” Harry asked.

“Holy shit! We just thought you were sneaking into the forbidden section or something.” Susan exclaimed.

“Why didn't you tell us?” Daphne asked. “Not that you are not within your rights to keep this secret, of course.”

“Did you think we were going to be angry?

Fleur added.

“That's a preposterous notion.” Vulpie huffed as she grabbed Harry by the arm and pulled him roughly towards herself. “We've been carrying this neanderthal around for years.”

Harry rolled his eyes and pressed a deep kiss onto Vulpie's cheek, causing the fox girl to flush and curse him out under her breath.

“It wasn't that.” Delphi said. “We just… well…”

“It was fun to sneak around and have a secret.” Lavender finished for her. “Plus, we figured it would be way easier to protect Hermione if the entire bunch of us isn't sneaking off to meet up with her.”

“Alright. Alright, we get it.” Fleur assured her. “Still, you've got me curious, and I'm sure I'm not the only one that would like to meet her.”

She looked to the others, who all shrugged and nodded in response.

“Fine,” Delphi said. “But we've got to be real careful about this. I don't want Hermione getting into trouble with her house mates.”

…

Fawkes was feeling very stressed out at the moment.

After all the time she'd spent with Albus reinforcing the wards, finding that tear on the side, so close to the castle, had been chilling.

That breach was not the result of a weakness. She had considered perhaps a magical overload due to having so much extraneous magic attached to them, but she quickly discarded it. She was centuries old, and Albus Dumbledore was the wisest wizard in all of Britain, they knew what they were doing.

No, that tear could only mean one thing. The manticore had sliced through the wards.

The tear was too small for a creature of its size to fit through. No, based on Aurora's memory, Fawkes deduced that the manticore had opened that breach in order to lure unsuspecting victims. She shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if Harry or one of the girls had been taken by that beast.

The fact that they were unharmed is what made her eventually believe them when they said they hadn't crossed over. If they truly had known about it and used it to enter the forest, they would have been killed immediately.

She sighed as she whispered the password to the Headmaster's office. The gargoyle leapt aside and the spiral staircase opened up for her.

“That is very troubling.” Dumbledore said as Fawkes raised her hand to reject the offered lemon drop.

“I have fixed the breach, but there is no knowing how many more the manticore will open. It is a being of both great intelligence and cruelty, and its clear that it wants to inflict as much pain and suffering as it can manage.”

Dumbledore sighed. “And the efforts on your side to locate it?”

Fawkes shook her head. “No luck. For such a large creature, it is proving very skilled at avoiding detection.”

“In that case, Fawkes, I'm afraid we can no longer keep this secret.”

“Headmaster, you know the ministry would go into hysterics over this.”

“I am not suggesting anything to that level, but at the very least, the staff need to be informed.”

Fawkes frowned. She liked most of her colleagues well enough, but she wasn't comfortable trusting them with such knowledge, especially someone like the charms professor.

“Fawkes, your colleagues have been sworn to protect the Slytherin students, and I will impress on them the importance of keeping this information under wraps.”

“And you think all of them will?”

Dumbledore sighed. “Gideon is a troubled man, but I've known him all his life. Deep down, he is a kind hearted soul. And he also respects me enough not to go against my word.”

Fawkes’ chair scraped back as the phoenix stood. “Fine, Albus. I will trust you on this.”

“Good. We'll inform the staff and we will set up shifts to patrol the wardline. The prefects are more than enough to handle the castle patrols anyways.”

Fawkes nodded as she turned and made to leave the headmaster's office.

That compromise had been necessary. And Dumbledore was right, this thing was becoming far too much for just their side to handle.

She just hoped that she wasn't making a mistake.

…

Hermione was extra cautious as she arrived at her meeting point with Lavender and Delphi.

Ever since the talk with Draco, she'd become extra paranoid about being found out. She'd spent the past few days waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Draco to announce to the entire common room that she was commiserating with the enemy.

That hadn't happened. Hell, Draco hadn't even stopped talking to her. Yes, he was much more cold and distant now, but it was as if he was still trying to keep up appearances. It was working well enough, Hermione figured, since none of the others had seemed to notice anything so far.

When she walked into the room, Delphi had her long tail spread out over a couch while Lavender was balancing a chair on its hind legs.

“Hey girls.” Hermione greeted, the smile on her face a bit strained.

“Hermione, how's it going?” Delphi asked as she slid out from the couch to greet her.

“Oh, you know, still have to proofread my potions essay.”

Hermione decided it would be best not to tell the girls about the whole thing with Draco.

Lavender snorted. “I'm sure it's already leagues above mine.”

Hermione frowned when she saw Delphi and Lavender sharing a look.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, everything's fine. Its just… our friends kind of found out about us.”

The curly haired girl's eyes widened. “Oh no, what did they say?”

Delphi smiled reassuringly. “They're not mad or anything. Well, they're mad at us for keeping the secret, I guess. Anways, we just wanted to know if you would like to meet them?”

Hermione felt a lump in her throat. She'd always struggled to make new friends and meet new people, and while her goal had always been to befriend all of them, having it thrust upon her so suddenly was a bit of a shock.

“Sure.” She said. “We can set up a-”

“Awesome.” Lavender clapped her hands together. “Alright guys, come on in.”

Suddenly, there was a flurry of approaching footsteps as the five remaining Slytherins shuffled into the room.

“Wha…how?” Hermione looked flabbergasted.

“I told you this wasn't a good idea.” Delphi insisted.

“It is simple dissolutionment magic.” Daphne offered Hermione an explanation.

Hermione turned to glare at Lavender. “What would you have done if I'd said no?”

The green haired girl shrugged. “I would have just given them the signal to go back to the common room.”

Hermione closed her eyes and sighed before she turned towards the others with a friendly smile.

“Sorry. Its great to finally get to talk to you all outside of class.”

“Do not fret, Granger. We're aware of how incredible we are.” Vulpie assured her.

“You can call me Hermione.”

“Well, Hermione.” Harry stepped up as he pulled put a notepad. “How about we all work on our potions essay together?”

…

“This is some fine tea, Madam Rosmerta.”

“Thank you. Mr. Malfoy.” The buxom woman responded from the bar.

Lucius spared her a single glance from over his paper before casting his eyes back down.

The barmaid would be a nice fuck if she wasn't so clearly uncomfortable in his presence.

Considering just how much time he was spending in this tavern recently, perhaps he should have a talk with Boot. He knew he had a majority stake in the establishment, perhaps they could strike up a deal.

Lucius turned the page, eyes not focusing on any one thing as he waited. He had his usual meeting with Prewett here today, but he'd also received a curious owl from one of Draco's schoolmates, asking for a meeting with him.

The doorbell rang and there he was. He was relatively tall for a first year, with a well formed face and good posture. A proper young wizard.

“Mr. Zabini.” Lucius gestured to the other side of the booth and Blaise took the offered seat, giving the lord a respectful bow before settling down.

“Thank you for agreeing to this, Lord Malfoy. I know you're a busy man.”

“Why, of course, your letter seemed rather urgent, and I'm never too busy for the concerns of the youth.”

The Zabini boy nodded, his face a well practiced mask of neutrality. He had learned his father's lessons very well, something that Draco had unfortunately not fully succeeded at.

“Well, what is on your mine, child?”

“Its about Granger, sir.”

“Hermione Granger?”

“Yes, sir. You see, the other day, I caught her sneaking off to hang out with the creatures. I believe she goes to see them multiple times a week, sir.”

“Oh really?” Lucius squeezed his hands under the table while keeping his face impassive.

Muggleborns were such a rare and valuable resource, Lucius had made sure to secure one for his son the moment he entered Hogwarts.

The girl was a bit too inquisitive for his liking, but then again, those would be good traits to pass on to his future heir, considering how wanting Draco was proving to be in that category.

But now he was reconsidering that position. If the girl was willing to stain herself with the presence of those things this early in the game, she would likely cause nothing but headaches for his household. Perhaps, it would be best to cut bait.

“And you did not think to inform Draco first?”

The dark-skinned boy blanched, “That's the thing, sir, I did tell Draco. I even showed him proof. He told me he would take care of it, but its been days and nothing has happened.”

“What?!”

For a moment, Lucius lost all his composure, and he was grateful that he'd activated the privacy bubble when the boy had arrived.

“H-He said he'd handle it. I wanted to inform you immediately, sir, but Draco-”

Blaise snapped his mouth shut as Lucius raised his hand. “Thank you for this information, Mr. Zabini. You may leave.”

The boy looked as if he wanted to keep going, as if he had more to say, but after a few moments of contemplation, he nodded respectfully and stood up from the chair before exiting the pub.

Had Draco really failed so miserably as a son? What could he possibly be thinking? Was this girl seducing Draco into her depraved way of thinking?

The more he sat there and stewed over it, the more Hermione Granger seemed like a poisoned apple.

The bell rang once more, and this time it was Gideon Prewett sliding in to the seat opposite him.

“You seem troubled, Lucius.”

Lucius let out a huffing breath before composing himself. “It is an unimportant matter. Now, tell me Gideon, any news?”

There hadn't been anything of note since the failure during the full moon, but Lucius still preferred to meet weekly with Gideon.

“Up until a hour ago, I would have come to you empty handed.” Gideon leaned forward, “But the headmaster has just informed me of something catastrophic.”

Lucius raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Apparently, there's a monster in the forest. Its something that terrifies even those vile freaks, and its running amock in their forest.”

That brightened Lucius’ day considerably. Perhaps the creatures would wipe themselves out without him having to lift a finger.

“And the Headmaster intends for you to provide them with assistance?”

Gideon shook his head. “This creature is tearing through the wards, Lucius. The phoenix insists that it has not left the forest, that it intends to lure the little monsters in to torture them. I think she's got her hands covered in shit doesn't know where to put them.”

Lucius chuckled as the wheels began turning in his head. “Indeed. So then the headmaster has recruited you and your colleagues to patrol the wards?”

Gideon nodded. “Another duty added onto our slate, all to protect those abomination.” The man sneered. “Dumbledore pulled me aside, told me explicitly that this is to remain a secret.”

“No worries, my friend, I will keep mum about this. Though, if you do end up spotting anything and no one else is around, I want you to inform me first.”

Gideon raised an eyebrow but did not question him. “Sure thing.”

Lucius smiled. Whatever this thing was, there was a chance that he could use it. If he were able to have it kill those brats without having himself implicated, the creatures would have no one to blame but themselves.

And hell, while he was at it, perhaps he could roll all his problems into one and deal with that ungrateful muggleborn as well.

…

Hours later, with the setting sun behind his back, Gideon Prewett was on his first patrol.

He'd relieved that bastard Lestrange, who had instantly summoned a bottle of firewhisky and taken a swig.

The man had taken great joy in pushing Gideon's buttons lately.

Gideon paced, passing by the same spot he'd walked by twenty minutes ago, and twenty minutes before that.

This felt useless. It felt like window dressing, and worst, he was doing it to serve those vile creatures that had killed his entire family.

He let out a groan of frustration as he threw his head up.

It was chilly. Winter was fast approaching.

He looked down to the floor. More than anything, he was supremely bored right now.

His eye caught something curious, then. A set of bushes that looked to be wilting. It was strange, because the leaves were not turning orange like the others nearby, they were blackening.

Gideon recalled passing by this bush earlier, and he'd noted that the leaves had looked slightly dark around the edges, but now, there was barely any color left. It was as if it had all been drained from the bush.

Gideon pulled his wand out. He was no herbologist, but he could put two and two together. Some form of magic was infouencing this bush. He didn't care if it was a harmless prank or some malicious scheme, he would burn the bush and be done with it.

Just as he raised his wand, a small, marble sized egg rolled out from under it.

Gideon eyed it suspiciously as it drew nearer.

That was when he began to hear the whispers.

Avenge them. I can give you the power to do so. Avenge them.

Images began flooding into his head. First, it was images that he had tried and failed to forget. The broken body of his sister, her husband, her sons, her baby girl.

His brother, always so joyful, struck down in the prime of his life.

Then they pivoted. He saw himself standing over a new set of bodies, bodies that brought him joy instead of pain. The fox girl, bleeding from holes that had once held her ears. The dragon roasting on a spit, the Potter boy writhing in pain as he watched his insidious little coven be decimated before his eyes.

When he came back to, he had his hand out in front of him, holding the tiny little egg between his thumb and forefinger.

It was slimy, gooey and elastic. It felt as if it would break with only the slightest bit of pressure.

His body must have reacted to his thoughts, because his fingers gave the slightest twitch, and the egg popped. Splashing its slimy contents onto his palm.

Gideon watched cutiously as the substance dissolved into his hand, his body absorbing it completely.

He didn't think too much of it. He felt fine. After a few more moments of standing around, he forgot about the whole ordeal and resumed his patrol.

Hopefully, one day, he'd be able to give those brats what they deserved.