Spoilers: All four books

Summary: After the death of Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy takes over his place in the
Death Eater’s inner circle. Draco’s first task is to get Hermione Granger as a pawn by
seducing her and getting her pregnant with his child. The need for siring a child is to ensure
Hermione’s permanent bond to the Dark Side.  It is not an easy task to begin with, but
emotions, pride, and Ron make things even more complicated. Worse, Voldemort has
other horrible plans for Hermione and the child which nobody knows, not even Draco.
If the plans push through, it will be the ultimate downfall of Harry Potter and the Light Side.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK
Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic
Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no
copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: Please review so I’ll know if my story was able to entertain you even if for just a
little while. Flames are welcome so I can improve my story.

Content warning: This story is rated R for a reason. This chapter is just rated PG,
but some of the later chapters have sexual content, but still well within the bounds of
an R rating. Be reminded that the characters are older here, so they deal with mature
stuff. If you do not like to see the characters that way, then do not read this. You’ve
been warned.

Dark Child

by bohemian vixen
 
 

Chapter 5
 

Draco woke up earlier than he usually did. He was feeling good about himself, and
proud with the way he was carrying out his mission.

He sat up in his bed and stretched his arms high above his head. He still had an hour
and a half before breakfast. He still had time to think, which he preferred doing alone
and quietly. He hated to be bothered.

He stood up, throwing the black silk blankets off him.  He looked at himself in the
mirror that was on the wall.  “Good morning! You’re looking good!” the mirror’s
voice piped up.

Draco gave a self-satisfied smile.

He was certain that he had caught Granger’s fancy when matters came to a physical
level. With his aristocratic good looks and after the hot kiss she gave him last night, he
was pretty sure that her desire for him was already a given.

He did not need worry about having to rape her, because he was confident that Granger
would give in…maybe even beg. He laughed wickedly. They would enjoy the deed very
much.

But then again, the body would give in more easily than would the heart.

He had to deal with her heart.

He scowled. He could admit to himself that when matters came to that, he did not know
much. Oh he was definitely smart—he just was not a geek like Granger, but if he were, he
could give her a run for her prefect badge—but he did not know much how to deal with
feelings. ‘Ugh, feelings my ass,’ Draco thought with contempt.

At least he had known women for a long time now, and he knew much about what they
want, after dealing with whiny women who came after him after he had dumped them.

He figured that he had to be a sensitive man to be able to reach out to Granger; that much
he knew.

But he did not know how, because he never needed to know before.

He was used to having everything at his beck and call. He was used to giving out orders.
He was used to having his own way. He never had to adjust for anyone before.

And now he had to.

And that was the only thing he hated about his otherwise enjoyable mission.

‘I guess I just have to enjoy myself with the idea of what the Dark Lord did to that
fool Dumbledore earlier,’  Draco thought, pulling up a sleeve to look at the still-glowing
mark on his arm.
 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione’s heavy eyes fluttered open. ‘My eyes are so sore! Why…?’ she thought
sleepily. And then she remembered. The memories of what happened the night before
washed over her. Suddenly she felt that all she wanted to do was lie here on her bed
to avoid seeing even just the back of Malfoy’s head.

She had cried herself to sleep. Right now, she was sure that her eyes definitely looked
bloated, if they felt this puffy.

She glanced at her bedside clock. It was half past the hour of breakfast time. “Damn,”
she swore under her breath. She had half an hour before classes would start, and she
had yet to take a bath, dress up, and try to do something to hide her puffy eyes. She
did not want any questions when she herself did not know what to answer.

Sighing resignedly, she got up from her bed and picked up several books from the dresser
table.

As she stuffed her books in her book bag, Hermione thought about the consequences of
what she had done with Malfoy last night.

In the light of the morning, her brain seemed to work better logically. Now that she was
awake, her thoughts began to clear up a bit.

She clearly remembered what took place last Saturday between Malfoy and her. It was
the first time that she felt scared of him, something that she had never experienced before that.

‘That was a foreboding. I should have trusted my instincts and stayed away! He’s
up to no good! And he’ll be a Death Eater in two months’ time!’  Hermione scolded
herself in her mind. But a small voice nagged at the back of her mind.  ‘How sure am I
that he’ll be a Death Eater just because his father had been? I’m just as prejudiced
as Malfoy is.’

Curiosity and excitement over what was forbidden stirred inside her. That would not be
easy to ignore.

And frustration over Ron, attraction to Malfoy, flattery, and rebellion made her emotions
more confusing.

She snapped out of her reverie when she turned to look at the clock again.

“Gees, I think I’ll have to take the shortest bath ever today,” she muttered to herself. She
had ten minutes before classes.

She went to the common room and was surprised when she saw it packed with students,
most of whom were looking uncertain and anxious. Hermione felt a twinge of nervousness
inside her. ‘Students should be going to their classes by now. There’s something
wrong.’  She walked past the huddles of students. Then she saw Ron, Harry, and Ginny
near the fireplace. She hurried towards them.

“What’s going on?” Hermione asked the group. As Head Girl, she felt that she should
know firsthand about anything that was happening inside the school. Especially about
anything that did not look good.

“Dumbledore announced over breakfast that classes are cancelled for today. It’s a day
off for students. He said that there’ll be an emergency faculty meeting,” Harry replied.

“About what?” Hermione pressed on.

“He didn’t say why. But we all know pretty much the reason, I guess…” Ron’s voice
trailed off.

A gloomy silence fell on the little group for a few moments. They all know that whatever
the reason for the meeting, it was most probably connected to You-Know-Who. You-
Know-Who was a strong force nowadays and they all feel that an all-out war was just
around the corner.

“I know Voldemort’s gaining power. Do you think he’s going to attack Hogwarts?”
Ginny asked anxiously to no on in particular. A shudder went up Hermione’s spine
upon hearing the Dark Lord’s name. Ginny, having survived an encounter with the Dark
Lord when she was in her first year, opted to call the Dark Lord by his proper name,
just like Harry did. Hermione should have been used to it by now, being friends with
both Harry and Ginny, but the proper name always brought a very slight chill down
her spine.

“I really don’t know, but Hogwarts is a safe place…though my scar hurt again last
night,” Harry answered heavily.

Hermione turned directly to Harry and said in an authoritative manner. “Harry, did you
tell Professor Dumbledore about that? He should know!”

“He already told Dumbledore, Hermione. He had enough foresight to do that on his
own,” Ron could not help but quip. “And You-Know-Who can’t be near now, because
Harry would’ve known. Right, Harry?”

Despite of the gravity of the situation, Hermione could not help but shoot Ron a deadly
glare.

“Do you think I did the right thing, though? I don’t want them whipping up a frenzy over
nothing. The teachers have their hands full already as it is,” Harry said.

Ron, Ginny, and Hermione almost simultaneously cried out, “Of course you did!”

Hermione sat on the armrest of the chair Ginny was sitting on. “We know it’s You-Know-
Who, but we don’t know what he’ll do next to reach his sick, twisted goal. It’s hard when
we don’t exactly know what we’re fighting against,” Hermione said tiredly.

Everyone in the little group knew the unfortunate truth of Hermione’s statement.

“We’ll just have to be careful and ready. But we’re still in Hogwarts. This is the safest
place we can be in,” Harry said.

That was at least a consolation.

“But after we graduate…” Ron shook his head, as if trying to clear his mind of unpleasant
possibilities. “Whatever happens, I’ll be an Auror. That’s the only thing I want to do. This
is what Dad would have wanted me to do,” Ron’s voice cracked a little at the mention of
his dead father. Ginny looked away, biting down her trembling lower lip.

When they were in fifth year, Mr. Weasley died fighting at the hands of some Death Eaters.
It was during a raid initiated by Mr. Weasley—a raid of Death Eater hideouts. He died a
hero, but the Weasley family was never the same again. The death had the most devastating
impact on Ron and Ginny.

“I’d be an Auror, too. That’s also the thing I want to do. That’s the right thing to do for
me,” Harry said resolutely.

Another silence fell on the group for a minute. It was not an awkward silence—it was a
comfortable silence that only friends could share. However, it was getting heavier by the
second, and each felt the need to cheer up the others from such a sad mood.

Ron was the first to break the ice. “Harry, after graduation…you’ll be able to keep the
motorbike Sirius gave you for your fifteenth birthday! Mrs. Figg doesn’t have to keep it
for you.”

Harry brightened up a bit. “Yeah, it’s about time. Mrs. Figg has been keeping it for the
last two years! And to think it’s mine,” Harry said with a little laugh. “Well, if she did not
keep it, the Dursleys would’ve taken it away from me,” Harry continued.

“Hey, maybe I could ride it, eh?” Hermione smiled. She wanted to make the mood lighter.

“Yeah, me too! I haven’t ridden it yet,” Ginny said, a glimmer of excitement in her brown
eyes.

“Of course!” Harry said promptly.

“Ey, Harry, do you think ol’ Arabella—er, Mrs. Figg rides on your motorbike every now
and then?” Ron asked mischievously.

“She’s an old witch, Ron. A motorbike doesn’t suit her,” Ginny said as she swatted her
brother’s arm affectionately.

“Well, she’s pretty cool, even though she’s weird. I mean, she was part of Dumbledore’s
espionage! That’s cool!” Ron said, putting emphasis on “espionage”.

“Yeah, pretending to be a muggle for many years and babysitting me when I was a kid
is cool! Oh, what glamour!”  Harry said mockingly at Ron. But of course, everyone knew
that he did so just to tease Ron. Harry was forever grateful to Mrs. Figg, who he
considered a friend.

The little group burst into laughter, a laughter that lifted their spirits a bit. It was well indeed,
for that was what they needed the most at the time.
 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A few hours later, at the Headmaster’s office, Dumbledore was alone, sitting at his desk.
The Pensieve was on his table, and he was brooding over it.

So many thoughts swam in his head that he felt that it would do him good to think with a
less cluttered and clearer brain. What happened earlier at dawn was something that demanded
his full attention and deep thinking.

It was bad enough that the Dark Mark on Severus’s arm was more prominent than ever.
Not to mention that Harry’s scar had hurt again. Dumbledore thought that things were
alarming enough with those occurrences. However, when he walked into his office at
the break of dawn, he saw a green snake slithering on the floor. The snake was aiming
a bite at Fawkes, Dumbledore’s phoenix. But before it could bite, the snake saw him,
and it turned its red glowing eyes at him. Dumbledore knew at once that the snake was
not a regular snake. What would a snake do in his office? And how could he forget that
the snake was Voldemort’s avatar?

Before Dumbledore could do anything, the snake disappeared. It did not just slither out.
It disappeared into thin air.

It was definitely not a normal muggle snake; it was not even an average magical snake.
For it to disappear like that from Hogwarts, it had to be strong Dark Magic.

Dumbledore knew that it could be a sign form the Dark Side, signaling an event which
Dumbledore never wished to happen—an all-out war. That was what the Dark Side
wanted all along, and it was no surprise that the Dark Side would be the offensive.

The whole Hogwarts faculty shared his interpretation and apprehension, as he discovered
during the faculty meeting he had called for earlier.

They had to be ready and able to fight, because maybe…

Maybe Hogwarts was not as safe as they believed it was.
 
 
 

Back to Chapter 4
Chapter 6