63A/N: Well hello again! I've finally finished the first chapter, well prologue at least, of the second part of the series which I have decided to title Destiny...not sure if I'll keep it or not but that's what I'm calling it for now lol. If anyone has a different title for it, please suggest away! Who knows, maybe someone's creative mind will kick in and give me a wonderful title. For those new readers, you should probably read the first part before this one because you may be truly lost at some of the things that have happened in the last year of the story. The first part is titled Kindred Spririts...please make sure you read that one first before you try to read this one.
As before, please review! It's you readers that keep me writing and make me want to finish...without your wonderful words of encouragement, I would probably just give up and throw the rest out the window! Oh and just like before remember-no one is twisting your arm or forcing you to read this so if you dont like it or think it just plain sucks...well then just dont read it! Dont show your distaste by leaving flaming reviews because, well it's just rather pointless isnt it? Also remember that critiques, well creative critisism is always welcomed and please if you see anything that you think should be changed (aside from certain characters deaths...Sorry! I still cant change that!-those of you who read Kindred Spirits know what I'm talking about (wink) lol) please dont hesitate to let me know!
So without further adu, I give you part 2...!
Daughters of Osiris
Prologue:
Flashback (this took place between part one and two)
The graduation ceremony had just finished and everyone was giving their goodbyes and hugging each other. As Hermione talked with Parvati and Padma Patil, a pair of familiar strong arms wound themselves around her waist from behind. Excusing herself from the twin girls, she twirled herself around in his arms and looked up into those brilliant silver-blue eyes that she loved so much. Crushing their lips together in a passionate kiss, Draco pulled her slowly away from the crowds of people. Pulling away from her lips, he took her hand in his and led her down towards the Quidditch pitch which was currently empty as everyone was mostly in the Great Hall.
"Draco, where are you taking me?" Hermione asked curiously, smiling happily at her boyfriend. Draco just looked at her with a familiar gleam in his eyes which told her that he was definitely up to something.
When they reached the pitch, Hermione gasped lightly when she saw a wonderful picnic set up in the middle of the field. As they reached it, Draco pulled her down beside him on the Slytherin green blanket and handed her a magically chilled glass of champagne. Taking a small drink, Draco weaved his hand gently around her neck and pulled her close to him in another earth-shattering kiss. With her eyes closed and her lips joined with his, she didn't noticed his other hand pulling a deep black velvet box from his dress robe pocket. Smiling into her lips, he pulled back from her slightly.
" 'Mione, for the past year you have taught me so many things that I never imagined possible. You showed me the true meaning of friendship, loyalty, bravery and most of all you taught me what it means to love. You forgave me for everything I'd ever done out of stupidity and embraced me into your life with open arms. I have never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would ever find someone that I love as much as I love you right now. I cannot imagine my life without you in it and if I were ever to lose you, I think I would lose my mind."
Draco told her, sitting up a little straighter, pulling the box into her sight and slowly opening the lid to show her it's contents. Hermione's eyes lit up and Draco watched as silent tears suddenly sprang to her eyes.
"Hermione Jane Granger, will you marry me?" Hermione looked up from the box to his eyes several times, the smile growing larger on her beautiful face and the tears of joy brimming over. Surprising him slightly, she suddenly lunged forward and threw her arms around his neck tightly.
"Oh my gods! Yes Draco, yes I will! I love you." Her lips met his with heated intensity. Breaking back momentarily, Draco pulled the ring from the box and slid it on to her finger.
"I love you too 'Mione, more than anything in this world."
Their lips met again in passion as their tongues danced together in perfect harmony. They soon ravished and claimed each other, mind, body, and soul right there on the Quidditch Pitch until the stars began twinkling high above them just as they were inside the Great Hall were the Commencement Ball was currently in full swing.
End Flashback
The newly engaged couple had been through hell and back for the past year. They had battled through Draco's abandoning the Death Eaters and seeking refuge in the arms of the Order. Side by side they fought in the Department of Mysteries, watching Draco kill his own father when Lucius tried to harm Hermione. They had survived a turbulent couple of months when Hermione had been confused and left Draco for the arms of her best friend. They had fought through the trials of Hermione's kidnapping and the battle that perspired at Malfoy Manor. Draco had sat back and watched his love fall apart and submerge herself in depression when the same battle claimed the life of her first love and best friend…hero to the wizarding world, Harry Potter. And now they were faced with an even more turbulent future now that it had been discovered by Hermione (thanks to a letter from their former Headmaster) that Hermione held the key to Voldemort winning the war.
Apparently, during the raid on the Department of Mysteries back in October, a very rare and curious artifact was stolen by Voldemort. At the time, it was perceived, not only by the Order members themselves, but the Unspeakables working there as well, that it was simply a very peculiar, thick, granite tablet. It had small writings on it but, even with the immense resources in the possession of the Unspeakables that worked their, no one had been able to decipher exactly WHAT the writings were or what language even, let alone decipher what the writings said. It was soon discovered, however, that it definitely was a very peculiar tablet indeed. In fact, it was not really a tablet at all but an ancient granite tomb of sorts that housed the most cherished and powerful book known in the history of the wizarding world…the Egyptian Book of Ani, more widely known in myths and legends as the great Book of the Dead.
According to the legends that surround this book, it was encased in a magical granite tomb that could only be opened by someone who was directly related to the original owner…non other than the great Egyptian God, the Lord of the Afterlife, Osiris himself. Somehow, through many, many generations, the line had greatly diminished. There was now only one sole heir to Osiris as it stands….one Hermione Granger, to be exact. And now that Voldemort had gained possession of this elusive tomb encased book, his goal to eternal life was now clear….find Hermione and force her to open it for him.
So far, Voldemort's efforts have been squashed. His first attempt ended with Hermione's rescue from Malfoy Manor where the Dark Lord was holding her captive after his Death Eaters had kidnapped her straight from her Head Girl room at Hogwarts. This led to a great battle at said Manor, ending in the death of her best friend, Harry. The blood-traitor (aka Draco Malfoy, Hermione's now fiancé), with help from Harry, Ron and other members of the Order of the Phoenix had burst in to their lair and rescued the young muggle-born heiress, thwarting Voldemort's attempt at 'persuading' young Miss Granger to do his bidding.
None of that was currently on Hermione's mind at the present time, however. Right now, the only thing on her mind was feeling her new fiancé's arms tightly around her as his platinum blonde locks shone in the moonlight while he slept deeply and contently next to her in their bed.
After graduation, Hermione and Draco had bought (well more like Draco had bought) a small but elegant manor on the outskirts of Godric's Hollow. Obviously not been able to move back into his family's manor, the couple found this lovely home and Hermione immediately fell in love with it's Victorian look. She had almost immediately set forth to decorate and remodel the new home to make it truly their own. Hermione was determined to keep the Victorian aspect of the house in tact and therefore almost all of the ten rooms in the lavish home were decorated in intricate details and colors of the Victorian era. Even their bedroom had a Victorian touch to it but the colors were far from the soft colors of the era. Instead, she had decided that the bedroom would house the most intimate connections from herself and her husband-to-be. There were beautifully done expressions of black, crimson, silver and greens placed intricately and delicately throughout the room. Their lavish king sized bed was dressed in deep crimson satin sheets were adorned with intricate silver dragons and other oriental decors and were topped by the softest most luscious black satin comforter galleons could buy. Each surface of the room was a deep mahogany wood, from the desks to the wardrobes. All the handles in the room were golden daggers surrounded by silver serpents (something that Draco had thought to be perfect to represent the two of them). So far the home was perfectly happy, exactly what Hermione had always dreamed of. She felt like a princess in a beautiful castle and Draco made sure everyday that she felt like the queen he thought she was.
For the past three months, Draco had been doing everything in his power to get Hermione to relax and enjoy as much as possible. She had had a very turbulent and depressing year and he thought she deserved to have some fun and just enjoy life for awhile. He knew about who and what she was, having been with her when she read the letter from their late headmaster, but he was bound and determined that he was not going to let the position she was in destroy her life, as it had with Harry. Draco had made sure their were every sort of protection ward and charm on their house as wizardly possible, from anti-apparation and de-apparation wards that did not permit apparation within the manor to ensuring that the only fireplaces in the manor that were connected to the Floo network were in the living room and their joint study on the first floor and that both of those rooms were charmed to set off an alarm if anyone other than those who the couple approved were to Floo into them. He wasn't taking any chance on a repeat of Hermione's kidnapping happen again, definitely not in their own home.
As Hermione opened her eyes that morning she remembered that it was September 1...the day that, for every year since she was almost 12 years old had marked the return to Hogwarts. It felt mildly strange to her that she would no longer be taking that journey. Sure she felt it when she left there with her new fiancé back in June, but for some reason, it seemed to hit her completely now and she felt a small, lone tear slide from her eye as she remembered all the wonderful times she had went through there. Then her mind began to wander towards the future and what Voldemort was planning to do with her and what she would have to do to keep him from obtaining his goal…though she still wasn't sure exactly what that was going to be. It had become habit for her mind to wander about that. She tried her best to keep up the happy façade during the day, not wanting to let Draco know that she was constantly thinking about it but it was getting harder…she knew that she would have to start working and researching some more and coming up with some sort of plan, along with the Order of course and it would have to be soon. Just as her thoughts were starting to take her over, she heard a stirring beside her and snapped back to reality to find those piercing ice-blue eyes that she loved so much staring right back into hers.
"Morning, love." Draco said sleepily, staring into her honey-brown eyes. "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing much, sweetheart," Hermione lied. "Just thinking about what an interesting year this is going to be…it's September 1 you know. The day we'd normally be on the train back to Hogwarts."
"Yep that it is. As for the year, well I think it'll be an interesting life now. After all, you are soon going to be the next Mrs. Malfoy." Draco replied, beaming in his sleepy state.
Hermione smiled slightly, her eyes trying to mask her worry that was deep inside.
Yes Draco, she thought to herself. Something tells me this will be a very interesting life...