A/N: Sorry for the delay guys; graduation is coming up. But thank you for your patience. I hope this chapter makes it up to you. I had a review asking why Hermione did not know who Harry really was and that comes up in this chapter; it was intentional. I had the same experience. I met my friend's aunt and my friend told me various times for various days who exactly we were meeting. She called her Aunt Linda all the time and when I finally met her, I said "You have a really wonderful daughter." Suffice to say both my friend and her aunt were very amused and her aunt said "Oh! I'm not her mother!" and neither of them let it go at all that night. So yes, if you are distracted enough, it can happen. She really did treat my friend like the daughter she never had though.
Angst is coming, so be warned. Also, someone nominated this story for the Unknowable Room best AU Fic category in their fic competition. I just want to say that it is a great honour, so thank you. I am glad you are enjoying the fic. Don't hesitate to review!
Chapter 18: Rude Awakening
Hermione got up as soon as the first ray of sunlight hit her eyes. She grabbed her tunic and left;
Harry still in his peaceful slumber.
She had to comply with her original duties; the ones that made her come here before Harry had made
her stay. Those duties were still in her agenda and it was better to take care of them, before the
duties came to take care of her.
She put on a pearl coloured gown and wrapped her hair in a ponytail, going down for a fast breakfast.
But who was she kidding? There was no way the queen would allow her to make for a fast, light
breakfast, not without her usual dirty talk first and usually with it went Hermione's appetite.
"Good morning, Hermione." Cassandra's tone hit Hermione like a stone, making her stand still, her
body cold as ice.
Had she addressed her by her name? The only time Cassandra had previously done that, it had been with a voice full of sarcasm. This time however, the queen's voice was cold, hard, and steady; the way it actually was, so she assumed this time, there would be no sarcasm involved in the message with which she intended to take Hermione's appetite away with that morning.
Hermione turned around, attempting to at least put a fake smile, failing miserably.
"Good morning, your majesty."
"Oh please, do call me by my first name; the occasion seems proper enough."
Hermione's eyes opened wide. What was going on?
"Certainly, uh, Cassandra."
"Tell me, did you sleep well last night?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"I was just asking if you got your rest. It is something every ruler must be certain of acquiring."
"Yes, I did. Thank you for your concern," Hermione lied, but the queen really did not need to know her personal business, especially when it involved the queen's nephew.
She shuddered. How could she have not known? She was certain that she had heard Harry refer to the queen as his aunt before. Why could she not put two and two together? And she was sure that she had to be briefed in the heir's actual lineage before departing Sparta. Why had she not paid attention?
Well, she had to admit with defeat, the Spartan matter had more to do with the fact that she wanted to get out of her father's sight as soon as possible. Moreover, she had been so outraged at the prospect of her father putting his undesirable duties on her that she honestly had not cared about what exactly she had to do. She wanted to find the prince; it did not matter to which parent he belonged, and get it over with. Besides, she had been much more concerned about coming to terms with her mother's past than with her diplomatic present.
That had changed of course, the minute she had started watching Harry not as the heir, but as someone who made her heart skip a beat whenever she was around him and suffice to say, all thoughts of her actual royal duties concerning Harry had died the night she had offered herself to him so carelessly. And now, it was too late to put what should have been such a trivial matter of parentage into consideration. Harry was the heir, he had to take the throne, and she had to leave as soon as possible, no matter how much her heart was protesting.
She briefly wondered what Harry might have thought when she expressed that she literally did not know who he was when she clearly should have, not just because she was sleeping with him, but because such diplomatic knowledge was vital to her Trojan mission.
He probably thought that his original prediction was right: that she was nothing but the spoiled daughter of Helen whose reluctance to come to Troy had to do with a fear of dirtying her attire; although she did not have to worry about that now because she did not have to wear her garments.
But her heart outrageously disagreed and she had to admit that, just as it had for her, and although nothing could come out of it, she hoped that in the brief course of time that they were together, this had turned personal for Harry too, as well as physical.
But then, if it could not go anywhere, why would she hope that?
Before she could ponder any longer, the queen banished her thoughts away.
"You did? Good. I must express I was deeply concerned." Oh, the riddles.
"What?"
"Well, I took the liberty to pass around Harry's room at midnight, and he was not there. Then I went
by yours-"
"Why were you in my room?" Hermione's nervousness was turning slowly to anger. Unwise choice.
"Do calm down, my dear. I was simply going to ask if you had received your uncle's parchment."
"I did, although it is not of your concern to ask such thing, your majesty. You already know why I am
here."
"Yes I do. Although I can see that is not the reason why you are staying."
Hermione's face became as pale as the first rays of sunlight in a clear new day.
"Wha-"
"Tell me, how does it feel to be Harry's whore Hermione?"
****
"Ithaca? He wanted her to go to Ithaca? Why? Could she? Did she want to?
Fleur was not even sure as to what to think anymore. Sure, it had been fun, very much fun, but she did not even imagine that it would go that far. More importantly; did she feel the same? She had never loved anyone
before; why should now be any different?
Fleur got out of her currently empty bed, for she had been speechless when Oliver had mentioned his request and consequently, he had been forced out of the room.
But she had reason to do it. He had no right to ask that of her. Had she ever given him any reason as to want to spend the rest of her life with him? Had she wanted to give it to him? Fleur got a fast bath, putting on the first outfit she found.
"Hermione. I need Hermione."
Wait just a minute. If she knew her sister, she would send her back to Sparta with her face on her
horse's arse. She had been seeing the prince of Ithaca behind her back. She definitely would not get out
alive of this one. Despite the grateful distraction that Oliver's parents had presented last night, Fleur had not missed her sister's fierce looks when it became clear that Oliver believed that the blonde princess was his.
"I still need her."
****
"I…" Hermione could not find her voice. Indeed, this was something she had not expected.
"Thought I would not find out, did you, you little piece of work? "
"I …"
"What is it that you want from him? You want the throne, do you not? You will put him on the throne,
so you can control him like a puppet? Yes, that is what you want. Agamemnon finally regains
control of Troy!
"No…"
"Oh, I know what you are thinking. `That is not true, I care about Harry. I love him'. True, he is
geographically desirable, if you want to put it that way, but as I said some time ago, the apple does not
fall far from the tree and a thing like you could not love. You are just out to get whatever you desire,
damn the consequences and Troy is your next meal, Harry the appetizer. Well, I will not allow that!
Over Troy's dead body I will allow some Spartan trash control of my country!"
"Shut up!" Hermione choked back her sob.
She could not believe it. By now, the queen was a blur of black hair, for her teary eyes did not see straight.
"You cannot and will not address me in such a manner! Troy is Spartan property and you cannot stay with the throne Cassandra! Your judgement will tear Troy down, Harry with it! You think I want Troy? Yes, your ambition says it all, but I would never do that to Harry. I-"
"Would never hurt him?" Cassandra took the words right out of Hermione's mouth. "Well,
you are sleeping with him; have been for a while now. Does he know you have a fiancée waiting for
you in Sparta? The son of his father's killer?" Hermione was speechless. "No, did not think so.
Oh. I know what you are wondering. How does this old woman know these things about me? Well, I
must say I have never been respected for it. Some say I am insane, others bored, but I, am a Seer my
dear. Yes, that is what I am. Do not worry, nobody believes it, but now you know. Now you know
that I know everything that happened between you and Harry. But do not worry Hermione, you will not hurt my nephew, because he does not care about you. You are just a nice thing to pass the time with. But when he becomes king, with Ginny by his side, he will not even remember your name. There is a difference between love and desire, my dear, and desire is the only thing you will provoke in men while your Helen's beauty lasts. No one could ever love a thing like you, Hermione. You better get used to it. Your beauty is a curse. It killed your mother, it will kill you as well."
Hermione's eyes drowned in tears. This could not be. This was not happening.
"Am I interrupting something?" Harry's voice echoed through the dining hall.
Ironically, he was the last person that Hermione wanted to see at the moment, no matter that just last night she longed to both see and feel him.
"Harry! Good morning darling!" Cassandra smiled at him while Hermione sniffled, trying to wipe
away the tears as quickly as possible.
However, they did not go unnoticed by Harry.
"Is something wrong?" Harry crossed his arms as he approached Hermione's trembling body.
His hand had barely touched her shoulder when she suddenly moved away from his reach.
"Excuse me." Hermione hurriedly took her leave.
"Is she sick? What did you do?" Harry glared at his aunt, his face unable to hide the concern he felt.
"Nothing. I just told her that her uncle will be arriving tomorrow, along with a few companions.
Tomorrow she will leave."
Harry flinched as he heard Hermione's body collapse on the floor.
"She is leaving already?" This was something he definitely was not expecting.
"Of course she is Harry. You did not expect her to stay here until the end of time did you?" Cassandra
laughed. To Harry, this was no laughing matter and she knew that. "Why do you ask?"
His answer however, took her by surprise, Harry's emerald eyes gleaming with determination.
"Has she chosen your successor yet?"
****
"Hermione! Are you all right?" Oliver took hold of her shoulders, pulling her up from the
cold floor, her sobs wetting his neat brown attire. "What is wrong?" He attempted to comfort her.
"He…she…I just…" Hermione's tears got the better of her and she suddenly lost her voice over to the
sobs.
Oliver pulled her against him as her sobs became louder.
"You will be all right. Actually, I wanted to talk to you," he ventured, hoping to distract her from her whatever was distressing her.
Hermione put her hand over her face and wiped what tears she could away, actually grateful for the distraction.
"Oh? What about?"
"About…Fleur." Hermione became aware that Oliver was no longer looking at her and turned around.
Her blonde sister seemed to be frozen into place.
"I will just uh…come back later." Fleur strolled away.
"What is going on Oliver?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing! I just…asked her to go to Ithaca with me."
****
"I…do not know," Cassandra admitted.
"Yes, you would not, would you?" Harry's voice was no longer gentle.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Nothing Aunt Cassandra, it is just that you are so concerned about your own plans that you are not even aware of the Trojan people's needs. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to see Hermione on the matter."
"Don't you dare go back to that whore!"
Cassandra's words held Harry to his spot. He turned around to glare at her, his face full of rage.
"Excuse me?"
Right now, Harry was resisting the urge to punch his aunt.
"You heard me! Troy needs a crowned king, not a manipulated fool! So your stupid useless affair
stops right here and now Harry!"
"You called her a whore?" Harry's breathing was at a shortening supply.
"I only told her what needed to be said! She is nothing more than that!"
"And you are nothing more than a croaked old hag despised with her own life. Do not, ever, address
Hermione like that neither on this castle nor in this country, ever. Is that clear?"
"What? Are you actually going to tell me that you feel something for that?"
"That is not your concern, and for your information, she is more capable of handling that
throne than you will ever be."
"So, you are just going to throw your father's legacy away? Just like that? You would give Troy up for
a Spartan?"
Harry gulped, his face motionless. He had made up his mind.
"Yes."
****
"Fleur." Hermione entered her sister's room. She was presently seated, looking over a parchment.
"Oh, Hermione." She looked over to her and smiled. "Are you all right?"
"I have been better. Did you know that Agamemnon will be here by tomorrow?" Hermione asked.
The truth was she had tripped with her garment as soon as she had heard Cassandra say to the man who currently owned her heart that her uncle was coming to pick her up.
"Yes. That was in the parchment I gave you. Did you not read it?"
Hermione sighed.
"I must have burned it before I actually thought about that fact," she admitted.
"What is the matter Hermione?"
Although Fleur was referring to Hermione's mood even though she had not seen the queen's spectacle, Hermione was not going to focus on herself. Although she knew that her sister knew about Harry, she preferred to keep most details to herself, especially because what Harry and she had could not go anywhere.
"Did Oliver ask you to go to Ithaca with him?"
Fleur's face went the exact same colour as her parchment. She clearly was not expecting that Oliver would actually talk to her sister about the issue.
"He told you?"
"Did he Fleur?"
"Yes."
Fleur expected her sister to just literally kill her right then and there.
You hag, how dare you flirt with an Ithacan prince? I warned you! Now you will not make it to Sparta alive! Die!
But instead…
"Do you want to go?" Hermione sat down beside her.
"W…what?"
"Do you want to go with him?" Hermione asked calmly.
"Does it matter?""
"I am asking, am I not?"
"I do not know…maybe."
"Do you love him?"
Fleur immediately lowered her head.
"I um, I...do not…"
"Then go." Hermione smiled.
By watching Fleur's reaction, her sister had given her the answer she needed.
Fleur's eyes widened. Was this her sister?
"They will not let me go anyway."
"Who are they?"
"Agamemnon and Menelaus."
"Well, Agamemnon is not even family of yours and father wants nothing to do with you, so I am your guardian, and I am giving you permission to go Fleur. How did it happen anyway? You and Oliver?"
"I do not know, I never thought it would actually go this far-"
"It looks like he does love you very much." Hermione smiled again, sadly this time.
"You think so?"
"I know."
"Wow. Thank you Hermione." Fleur hugged her. "What will you do? Come with me?"
"No. I will go back to Sparta. It is where I belong anyway."
"That is not true! What about Harry?"
Hermione's eyes widened, but then again, she should not have been surprised about her sister's perception. She had been spending a lot of time with Harry after all. However, although her sister had a point, Hermione knew that she had to go back to reality.
"I will…set things straight." Hermione sighed, tears threatening to fall down for the second time that day.
****
Dinner was a quiet affair, except for Ginny's flirtations with Harry, which Hermione found very difficult to
bear and as a result, did not touch her food.
Oliver kept staring at Fleur, and so did his mother, smiling at her broadly.
Harry kept moving his seat as far from Ginny as possible, continuingly glancing at Hermione, who did not meet his eyes at all through the night. To be more precise, she had avoided him all day. She kept putting up excuses in order to get away from him, but she was not going to do it for long.
Tonight, he would admit his feelings for her and make sure that she would stay with him forever. And
he knew just the way to do it.
****
"Hermione." He knocked on her chamber door and entered just as she was getting out of the bath, combing her wavy hair.
He sighed. She was a beauty. She gasped as she saw him, instinctively tightening her cloth.
"Harry…"
"I apologize. I did not mean to startle you."
"It is fine. Did you want something?" She was careful enough to avoid his piercing green gaze.
"I have not spent time with you all day. I wanted to talk to you about this morning-"
"Oh, well, would you mind coming later? I am still getting dressed-"
She gasped as Harry took her by her shoulders, leaning her against him into an intense kiss.
He moved onto her neck as he felt her responding and closed the door with his foot, following with her shoulders as she moved her head back instinctively.
He had really intended to talk to her, but she looked so beautiful and she had just a cloth on...talk would wait until later, he concluded, especially since she was arching against him.
"Harry…"
She had to try to talk some sense into him. She had to set things straight between them, but his name came out very much like a moan, and she knew then that she getting lost in him.
Harry settled her down easily on bed as she took his tunic neck, reaching for his lips again. And talk was forgotten, for the time being.
****
"Oliver…" Fleur entered the prince of Ithaca's chamber. He was already packing his belongings and jumped when he settled his eyes on her.
"Fleur? What are you doing here? It is kind of late."
"Are you packing already?"
"I have to. What can I do for you?" He stopped his task to give her his full attention.
"I talked to Hermione."
"Oh. Did you find out what was wrong with her?"
"Well, actually, she found out what was wrong with me. Your parents seem nice enough."
"Well obviously, I am their only heir. They cannot afford to argue with me," he said smugly, although he really respected and cherished his parents.
"Right." Fleur laughed.
"What do you want?" he asked, as she got closer to him.
He thought that she had already given him his answer when he had forced him out of her chamber last night. So he really was surprised to see her, although he had to admit that he had been hoping to see her all day.
"I just wondered at what time we were leaving."
Oliver's face lit up.
"Really? You-"
She interrupted him with a soft kiss that took his breath away.
"I want to be yours. I want you to be mine."
"Well then, we can leave whenever you are ready; just not tonight. I want you to stay. I love you." Oliver kissed her hungrily, claiming her body.
****
" `Hermione?"
Hermione's eyes opened dazedly as Harry stroked her hair softly. Her back was facing him and
her body was snuggled up against his.
She sighed, taking his hand and squeezing it lightly.
"I want the throne."
His statement took her by surprise, her eyes opening wide, but she still did not look at him.
"What?" Her voice was merely a whisper.
"I will take it, but…I want you to take it beside me. I want you to stay with me and be mine,
officially. I love you"
Harry immediately felt Hermione tense up and let go of his hand.
He quickly resumed the task of stroking her hair, trying to relax her once more, but she took the blanket and got up, staring at the sky through the open window. He followed behind her, turning her to face him. She had tears in her eyes.
"What is the matter?"
"Oh Harry…I…cannot…"
She lowered her face, but he would not allow her to avoid him once again and lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"Do you not want to?"
"I…I am engaged."
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